


Amnesia: Death's Castle

by TheVioletScout



Series: Death's Castle [1]
Category: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, PewDiePie - Fandom, YouTube Gamers
Genre: Abuse, Dark and Edgy, Drug Use, Dysfunctional Relationships, Each chapter has it's own content warnings, Gen, Gijinka, Headcanon, Not Romance, Other, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, Supernatural split personalities, Swearing, This is a dead fandom and I am stubborn and still writing for it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 65,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVioletScout/pseuds/TheVioletScout
Summary: Life in Brennenburg was hard enough for Stephano, Mr. Chair, Piggeh, and Jennifer before Pewdie arrived, but after he leaves the remaining members of the Bro Army are left fighting the battle he started with the Barrels, as well as trying to survive the monsters. Not to mention the ordinary dangers of starvation, the cold, and illness. However, things only get more complicated when they begin to uncover dark secrets that may have been better buried with their corpses. It all starts when brothers reunite, and an enemy from within emerges.
Relationships: Background pairs, Ship Tease - Relationship, Unrequited love - Relationship
Series: Death's Castle [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925146
Kudos: 1





	1. Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Blood, vomiting, mentions of child murder, mentions of kidnapping
> 
> Please note that all three of the first chapters and even later chapters are reuploads from my DeviantArt and Quotev and contain shoddy writing that I have grown out of by now.

"Stephano..."  
  
A woman's voice called to him, the statue followed the voice through the darkness, eventually coming upon light.  
  
"Stephano..."  
  
Amongst the light and a storm of white flowers was a pale thin woman with long messy brown hair and silver eyes wearing a short white dress, black tights, and black heeled shoes. In light brown curls were more of the flowers that were flying through the air.  
  
"Stephano..."  
  
He reached his hand out, and to his surprise, she reached her hand out too, allowing him to take hers. It was small and cold. She held his hand tightly before it went limp.  
  
"STEPHANO!!!"  
  
The golden statue fell out of bed, gasping in pain and looking up to see the familiar face of Jennifer standing above him, black hair held high in a ponytail by a violet ribbon, a green mossy looking one sleeved tank top with a morning glory flower on the sleeve clothed her torso, and simple black leggings and darker gray boots were on her legs and feet. Gray eyes were filled with anger.  
  
"Finally, I said your name three times and you didn't wake up."  
  
"Sorry, I was having a weird dream." Stephano said rubbing his head.  
  
"What dream isn't weird? Any other day where you woke up first you'd be barking at us to get up. Now come on, breakfast is going cold." Jennifer said and left the room.  
  
He got up, tied his hair back into a low ponytail, and put on the rest of his clothes. He made his way to the main room, where it was just an ordinary morning, Stephano fended off the unwanted advances of Piggeh, and Mr. Chair tried to be the peacemaker between them. After breakfast Jennifer began beating the dirt out of clothes and scrubbing them with a washboard, Piggeh helped but spent most of the time flirting with her, while Mr. Chair sat down to read a book on flowers.  
  
"Mr. Chair, could I have a look at the flowers in the book real quick?" Stephano asked.  
  
"Sure, but why?" Mr. Chair asked tilting his head. Stephano had no doubt that the man was a caucasian Prussian, but a few of his features also suggested a different race in his genes, perhaps Asian. As time had gone by in the castle he had replaced his simple dress shirt and green sweater vest for a more ornate shirt decorated by magenta ribbons and a green blazer, his black dress pants and shoes looked the same, but might have been identical replacements. His beret stayed however  
  
"I saw some strange flowers in my dream, and I was wondering what they were." Stephano said. "They looked a little familiar..."  
  
"Of course." The two began searching through the book for the flower, going through pages of flowers like cherry blossoms, lavenders, lillies, daffodils, and even the one on Jennifer's shirt. Then they finally came across the one in Stephano's dream, a white flower called Stephanotis.  
  
"Don't tell me similar names is the only reason it was in my dream." Stephano said.  
  
"Stephanos means "Crown" in Greek. Anything about royalty or leadership? Or even heads?" Mr. Chair asked.  
  
"Not really." Stephano said thinking back to it.  
  
"Okay, they're usually used for weddings. What about that?" Mr. Chair asked.  
  
"I don't think that's it either. There was a beautiful woman, but she wasn't wearing a wedding gown, and I wasn't really attracted to her." Stephano said.  
  
"Maybe it's one of your ex-girlfriends." Piggeh said, but before Stephano could laugh sarcastically Piggeh began coughing.  
  
"Piggeh are you okay?" Mr. Chair asked.  
  
"Yeah, just a little cough." Piggeh said chuckling.  
  
"Anyway, it probably means nothing. Thank you though Chair." Stephano said.  
  
"Now that your flower discussion is over, we're running low on supplies. Mr. Chair, Stephano, could you two do a search for them?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Very well."  
  
"So I guess it's just the two of us then, huh Jenny~?" Piggeh leaned back as if to display his mutilated body. Thankfully he was fully clothed, wearing a red leather shirt with tattered edges, a brown fishnet vest and jeans, and darker brown work boots. On his arms were bandages that Stephano often pondered about, given the rest of his mutilations weren't covered. Over time his hair had grown longer and messier, though it was not to the length of Stephano's.  
  
"Actually I can handle myself, why don't you go with them?" Jennifer said, clearly disappointing the pig, who quickly smiled and got up.  
  
"Your loss then~" Piggeh teased and made his way to the door.  
  
"We'll be back as soon as possible Jennifer, stay safe." Stephano bid farewell to the rock.  
  
"You too."

* * *

Stephano remembered back during the days of PewDiePie when their little survivor group was formed. Somehow Piggeh convinced Jennifer to let him stay with her, and soon after she asked Stephano to join them. He was never sure why since they hadn't been on good terms, as she was constantly rejected by Pewdie and he was his best friend. Maybe she thought getting close to him would get her closer to Pewdie, maybe she just wanted him to keep Piggeh from having his way with her, or maybe it was just plain survival tactics.  
  
All he knew was that things didn't go smoothly. He and Jennifer didn't co-operate well and Piggeh was no help. All the swine wanted was for Mr. Chair to join the group. He always declined, saying that it wasn't ideal for raising his little brother, and that he has chairmode to keep him safe. Piggeh always asked afterwards, "Do you think it's because of me?" and they said definitely, though Stephano and Jennifer's bickering was probably also a driving factor.  
  
At some point, they plain gave up on trying to convince Mr. Chair. What they didn't expect was the day Mr. Chair came to them, and it wasn't a happy occasion...  
  
Stephano was watching the sticks in the fireplace spark and light on fire after minutes of attempting to light them. "There, finally..." Stephano said and threw some old paper in to keep the fire going longer.  
  
"So bored..." Piggeh said then his voice turned to a seductive tone. "Hey Stephy~"  
  
"Don't even think about it." Stephano said.  
  
"Jen?"  
  
"No thanks Piggeh." The rock said tying her hair back up into a ponytail.  
  
"Ugh, why can't something interesting happen?" Piggeh said, and on cue the door opened, revealing a teary faced Mr. Chair.  
  
"Mr. Chair, what's wrong?" Jennifer asked, and Piggeh looked to see Mr. Chair holding a familiar brown cap stained with blood.  
  
"Is that...?"  
  
"C-Could I stay with you guys? I don't have anyone else to go to..." Mr. Chair said, choking on his sobs.  
  
"Of course, come here!" Jennifer said, and once Mr. Chair was close to her she pulled him into a comforting hug. "What happened?"  
  
"They killed my little brother... I found his hat in a pool of blood..."  
  
"The barrels?" Piggeh asked, to which Mr. Chair nodded.  
  
"He was only nine... How could they..."  
  
"I-I have to go!" Stephano said before running out of the room, horrified at the knowledge he had received from the chair.  
  
'This couldn't be because of me, could it?'

* * *

"So how much did you guys find?" Mr. Chair asked. "I have two tinder boxes, an oil jar, and a sanity potion."  
  
"Three bottles of laudanum, and a sanity potion." Stephano said, taking a look at what he had in his possesion.  
  
"Just a few tinderboxes." Piggeh said dumping them onto a desk.  
  
"For a room this would be pretty good, but for a whole search this is pathetic." Stephano said, disappointed that this was all they found.  
  
"Maybe we should pack up and move to a different part of the castle, or at least start going farther with our searches. There's nothing left here." Mr. Chair said.  
  
"Either way, we need to return home soon, so let's speed the search up. You two go down the left hallway and I'll go to the right, we'll cover more ground." Stephano said while Piggeh began gathering the tinderboxes he dumped out.  
  
"We'll meet up with you later Stephano." Mr. Chair said and began walking away with the pig. The two had a close friendship, one that seemed to predate the Bro Army considerably. Stephano trusted the two to be safe together.  
  
Stephano began walking down the right hallway with his lantern aflame, his movement making the thin, torn, and transparent cape attached to his hood flow behind him just a little. The ruby brooch he wore shone slightly in the lantern's light, creating red beams of light on the walls and floors. He may not have actually started wearing it for precisely that reason, but it was the only time he ever took a gift from Piggeh. He couldn't help but agree that the red complimented all of the gold on him.  
  
Stephano searched the rooms, still not managing to find much, but managed to get some oil.  
  
"Shit... I better go find Mr. Chair and Piggeh, maybe they've had more luck than me." Stephano muttered to himself and went to leave the room, but as he reached the grab the doorknob one of the randomly appearing corpses Pewdie had referred to as Teleporting Naked Guys appeared before him, causing the statue to scream and fall onto his back. When he did he heard glass breaking.  
  
Hesitantly looking into the satchel he was using to carry everything, he found that the fall managed to break the bottles of oil, sanity potion, and laudanum.  
  
"You've got to be..." Stephano groaned and slapped his hand against his forehead. "What am I going to tell them?"

* * *

Mr. Chair tuned out the story Stephano had been telling of a young woman ambushing him and stealing his supplies once they split up, and that the only reason she got away was because Stephano was not about to hit a lady, as well as Piggeh saying it was bullshit since he has in the past.  
  
Mr. Chair was fairly certain Stephano just somehow lost the supplies and didn't want to admit his mistake. To him you could put arrogance or ego in the spelling of Stephano's name and it wouldn't sound any different. Mr. Chair only came back to reality when he heard the faint sound of soft but untrained singing.  
  
"Do you hear that?"  
  
"What? You ignoring me?" Stephano asked in his most deadpan tone.  
  
"Someone is singing." Mr. Chair said and followed the sound.  
  
"I don't hear anything Chair." Stephano said and followed him, the pig in tow.  
  
"Well I hear it." Mr. Chair finally found the room it was coming from, and upon doing so Stephano did finally agree that there was a singer in there. Mr. Chair gently opened the door as to not alert the person singing and stepped inside. He saw a young boy around the age of 14 laying in front of a fireplace quietly singing to himself.  
  
He had shoulder length blonde hair, pale but healthy colored skin, and was wearing a white shirt with a brown folded down collar and cuffs, light yellow pants, and had a yellow necktie, brown boots, and a white hair tie strewn aside. Mr. Chair recognized the song he was singing. He remembered a time many years ago when he would sing the same song to put his now deceased little brother to sleep. His little brother with sun colored hair and peach skin...  
  
"It can't be..." Mr. Chair murmured and walked towards the young boy.  
  
"What are you doing?" Piggeh asked, and Mr. Chair, fueled by the slightest hope that his suspicions were true, placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, who jumped and sat up, grabbing a dagger and pointing it at the the intruder. His eyes held more maturity than the boy he once knew, but they were the same amber brown that Mr. Chair was familiar with, and still reflected his kind heart, and especially once they softened.  
  
"Mayo, is it you?" Mr. Chair asked, a bright smile on his face, and the boy responded by pulling him into a hug.  
  
"You're alive?!" Piggeh said, a clear joy on his face.  
  
"Yeah, you thought I was dead?" Mayo asked, his voice was still childish, but of course was developing into a young man's.  
  
"Of course, where were you?" Mr. Chair had tears running down his face. Stephano could see that he was going through so many emotions.  
  
"It's a long story, but the short of it is that I've been trapped by the Barrels for years, I only got out yesterday." Mayo said sadly.  
  
"Oh god, all that time..." Mr. Chair muttered, clearly regretting that he stopped looking after he found Mayo's hat.  
  
Stephano was about to say something, but then the sounds of coughing from Piggeh got his attention.  
  
"Piggeh? Is everything okay?" Stephano asked, but only got more coughs, and Mayo began gathering everything he owned.  
  
"He must be sick. We need to hurry back-"  
  
Before Mr. Chair could finish, Piggeh vomited onto the floor, but most unsettling was that the puke had blood in it.  
  
"This isn't good, we need to go!" Stephano said, and not knowing if Piggeh was in a good condition to walk, he lifted him up and began running back. Mr. Chair followed after them, holding on tightly to his little brother's hand as if he would never let go of it again.


	2. Of a Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Stomach wound descriptions, lack of gun safety, child endangerment, murder

Stephano paced around the room he had been waiting for days, biting away at the last bread loaf he had brought with him. It had been months since Pewdie has visited Brennenburg, and he was sure that he would arrive any day now, yet it never seemed to happen. Even if he passed Stephano, somebody would have seen him, the news would spread like wildfire, and would reach him one way or another.  
  
Stephano sat on the bed, trying to make himself realize that he really wasn't coming back. Pewdie was done with the game. He may have let some tears escape his eyes but then he heard the door open. He quickly cleaned himself up and turned around, expecting to see Pewdie, but only saw Mr. Chair and Piggeh.  
  
"What do you two want?" Stephano's disappointment and annoyance was clear to the two.  
  
"You've been in here for a week, Jen sent us to bring you back." Piggeh walked over, sitting next to his golden ally.  
  
"Has it really been a week?" Stephano quietly pondered to himself. "Nevertheless, Pewdie hasn't returned yet. I need to wait for him."  
  
"He isn't coming back. He got sick of this." Mr. Chair said.  
  
"How do you know that?" Stephano asked.  
  
"It's been way too long. Besides, if you had the option to leave this place behind you would take it." Mr. Chair said.  
  
Stephano knew Mr. Chair was right, but he still couldn't admit it.  
  
"He cares for us, he'll come back-"  
  
"He cares for you!!! The rest of us are the spares!!"  
  
It seemed Stephano had finally broke Mr. Chair's patience.  
  
"Damn it Stephano, I miss him too, more than you'll ever know!!! It hurts so much, but we can't change this!!! You have never known what it feels like to be left behind like this!!!" Mr. Chair had veins popping out of his forehead, and looked to be crying. "But I guess you know now how it feels now to be constantly waiting for something that won't happen!! And when you finally get through with waiting, all you have is us!!! We'll be waiting for you at the base, like always."  
  
Mr. Chair stormed out, slamming the door as he left.  
  
"Wow, you really pissed him off." Piggeh said. "Look Steph, I know you'll need time. This grief doesn't just fade. So I'm not going to lecture you."  
  
Stephano was surprised to hear Piggeh's somber tone, and that he was genuinely trying to help, as many times he was certain the only emotion Piggeh ever felt was lust.  
  
"We won't make you come back, but please do soon. We really are worried about you."  
  
"Maybe you do, but I don't know if Mr. Chair and Jennifer are actually worried." Stephano snarked.  
  
"At least you acknowledge I care." Piggeh joked and stood up. "Before I go, I found something that I wanted to give to you."  
  
Piggeh reached a hand in his pocket, then held out a ruby brooch with a gold border.  
  
"A brooch?" Stephano asked taking it.  
  
"Yeah, I saw it and thought "Man, I'd hate to just leave this perfectly good ruby here, and I think Stephano would look dead sexy with it! The red would compliment all of his gold~"" Piggeh said, reenacting the motions that came with that thought.  
  
"I'll think about it swine." Stephano said tossing it beside him.  
  
"Alright, well see you later Stephy~ Hopefully with a smile~" Piggeh said and left the room.  
  
Stephano waited a few moments, quietly tapping his fingers against his leg before reaching over to pick up the brooch and pinning it to the bottom of his hood.

* * *

"Do you know what's wrong with him now?" Stephano asked, once again checking in with Jennifer.  
  
"You're lucky the answer is yes." Jennifer said and slammed the medical book she was reading shut. "Seventh time you've done this."  
  
"I know I know, what's wrong with him?" Stephano said impatiently.  
  
"The coughing seems to just be a cold or maybe just a struggle to puke, but the blood in the vomit means there's something wrong with the stomach, torn lining most likely. That's bad enough to kill him. Thankfully Brennenburg is home to a common potion that can cure nearly any injury on the spot." Jennifer said with optimism.  
  
"Great, where do you keep the laudanum?" Stephano asked.  
  
"You didn't find any?!" Jennifer's optimism was now completely gone, and Stephano realized just how big he fucked up when he accidentally broke all of the laudanum they found. "You guys need to hurry back out there and find more!!"  
  
"We've searched the whole area!!"  
  
"Then look elsewhere!!" Jennifer said shoving him out the door. "I'll try to keep the internal bleeding under control in the meantime."  
  
"Very well. Also tell Piggeh I want to have a word with him when I get back." Stephano said and walked to Mr. Chair and his younger brother, both trying to catch up while nervous about Piggeh's condition. "Chair, Mayo. I have to run out and find more laudanum. Piggeh needs it."  
  
"How about I go with you to make sure you don't lose it again?" Mr. Chair said, not ready to let go of Stephano's accidental destruction of the potions. Considering it was dire at the moment, he couldn't hold it against him.  
  
"If you wish. Will Mayo be coming too or staying?" Stephano asked, looking at the young boy. As Stephano could see, Mayo had tied his hair back up into a ponytail while he was busy with Jennifer.  
  
"Mayo will be staying-"  
  
"Actually I'd like to go too. Maybe I could help." Mayo said hopefully.  
  
"I'd prefer you remained here. We'll be back as soon as possible." Mr. Chair said.  
  
"I didn't escape just to spend more time locked in a base." Mayo said crossing his arms, and Mr. Chair's face was priceless to the statue.  
  
"He's a teenager now Chair, with that comes attitude." Stephano quietly teased, amused by the sudden discord between the brothers.  
  
"You're staying here, that's final. We'll talk more when I get back." Mr. Chair said and left.  
  
"Better luck next time." Stephano said and followed.

* * *

"Well I haven't seen this chasm before." Stephano said as he and Mr. Chair reached a large gap in the floor.  
  
"I hope this means there's more to find over there." Mr. Chair observed the area, but there was no way to get across accept a wooden plank, on the other side. "Do you think we could make the jump?"  
  
"I don't think so. It's way too big of a leap. If I'm correct even if we could someone would need to be on the other side to grab us before we fell. Perhaps someone smaller and nimble could make it on their own."  
  
"That sounds like me~" Both men jumped at the sudden third voice and turned around to see none other than Mayo.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" Mr. Chair asked. "I told you to stay home!"  
  
"I followed you." Mayo said, then began a running start, running to the edge before Mr. Chair grabbed him and held him back.  
  
"Are you crazy?! You are not jumping across!!" Mr. Chair scolded the younger boy.  
  
"You guys can't!! And Stephano said it himself, someone small and nimble could!!!" Mayo argued.  
  
"What if you don't make it?!"  
  
"I have to try! If Piggeh doesn't get laudanum soon the consequences could be fatal!!" Mayo ripped himself from Mr. Chair, took a few steps back, and jumped. Mr. Chair couldn't stop him in time, but thankfully...  
  
"I made it!!!" Mayo waved from the other side and began setting up the board while Mr. Chair was hyperventilating.  
  
"You had to grab the edge to pull yourself up!!"  
  
"He made it Chair, calm down." Stephano said placing a hand on his shoulder, which was promptly thrown off.  
  
"He could have gotten hurt, how are you fine with this?!" Mr. Chair asked.  
  
"I'm actually not, I don't think that was very smart. However it worked out so let's count our blessings. Besides he isn't nine anymore, he's 14. It's time he started learning how to fend for himself." Stephano whispered.  
  
"Hello?!"  
  
"He's only 14." Mr. Chair whispered back.  
  
"You guys coming?!"  
  
"The kid will have it lucky, he's doing this of his own choice. I was forced to start learning at 11."  
  
"I got the board ready!"  
  
"So did I, that's when I found and started raising him!" Mr. Chair whispered harshly.  
  
"Okay, I'll just wait for you guys to stop talking... Piggeh's dying by the minute..."  
  
"What do you mean by found him?" Stephano asked.  
  
"Never mind." Mr. Chair said then began walking across the board. "Sorry for the wait, grown up stuff!"  
  
"About me?" Mayo asked, not impressed by his brother's very outdated excuse for not telling him things, and Stephano could bet that Mr. Chair's face was once again priceless.  
  
"W-Well, I-"  
  
"Enough, we don't have time for this. We need to hurry and find the laudanum." Stephano said joining the brothers.  
  
"Thank you. Let's go." Mayo said and began walking.

* * *

"Chair, do you think we have enough or should we keep looking?" Stephano asked presenting their find.  
  
"I think five bottles of laudanum are good, we should hurry back." Mr. Chair made his way to the door, but stopped for what seemed to be no reason.  
  
"What is i-"  
  
"Shh!" Mr. Chair hushed his younger brother and continued to listen for something the other two bros couldn't hear, but then he spoke in a hushed tone; "Barrels! Hide!"  
  
This sent both Mayo and Stephano into a panic. Stephano slid under a bed, having found out over the years that it was actually a really great hiding spot, Mr. Chair seemed to know it too as he joined him pretty soon. Mayo on the other hand opened the cabinet to a desk they recently cleared out and squeezed inside, due to his small stature it worked, but Steph figured he would get uncomfortable pretty fast, and he hoped the kid wasn't claustrophobic.  
  
He also hoped that the barrels would not enter the room at all, but unfortunately, they walked right in. He could recognize three of the voices and knew that they belonged to his brother Gonzales and his two friends, Red Chair and Sammy Sue.  
  
Sammy was a flirtatious woman, and Stephano actually didn't have much of a grudge against her. Similar to how Piggeh kinda ended up a Bro by association, Sammy could be considered a Barrel by association, as she never really tries to harm any of the Bros, she doesn't do much to help though. She was actually on fairly good terms with Pewdie when they met, but Stephano never knew if that was because she was genuinely that nice, or if it was part of some trap. She had long bushy straw-colored blonde hair, dreadfully pale skin, gray-blue eyes, a crooked nose and three scars over her eyes. She was also quite thin, practically frail. She usually wore a simple burlap hoodie that showed her midriff, simple blue shorts with a chain belt, and black work boots.  
  
Red on the other hand was a clear cut enemy. Not exactly sadistic, there were some other barrels Stephano thought better fit that description, but he was merciless. Everytime Stephano encountered him at least one of them walked away bleeding badly. He knew he and Mr. Chair were brothers, and always wanted to ask the latter about him, but Mr. Chair never liked talking about his older brother. Or maybe he just didn't want to talk about it with him. He had the same peach colored skin as his brother, dark brown eyes, and short brown hair, nothing too remarkable about his face except maybe a strong jaw. He usually wore a red cap and a red waistcoat with a white dress shirt, a black dress pant and shoes.  
  
Gonzales was Stephano's twin, so he knew him all his life. Gonzales was a coward, and even though he was supposed to be one of the Barrels' most dangerous soldiers, many attempts to put Pewdie in danger ridiculously backfired, like a time where Gonzales was leading Pewds through a tunnel, but got stuck there under some rubble for a long time until Stephano himself found him unconscious there and freed him. Of course Stephano couldn't judge him too much for failing to kill something that would come back to life anyway, and he had to admit that Gonzales had a strong sense of loyalty, that even Stephano, who wouldn't exactly be considered disloyal, lacked.  
  
He looked fairly identical to his brother, aside from Stephano being gold and the latter being silver, though a close look revealed significant differences, such as Stephano having a more chiseled face with Gonzales' being more soft, and Gonzales' hair was more wavy and kept short, whilst Stephano's was straight and long. They started out wearing identical clothes, but around the time Stephano updated his, Gonzales had some noticeable updates as well. Gonzales' hat had a small sapphire at the top, and while Stephano's hat extended down over part of his torso, Gonzales' stopped at his shoulders so he used a silver scarf to keep it on. His sleeves were cut off above the elbow and revealed a simple long-sleeved white shirt underneath, and while Stephano used a golden rope as a belt to keep his shirt tightened, Gonzales stuck to using a silver ribbon.  
  
They were a treacherous trio that nowadays didn't stay apart long. Stephano heard some other voices, but didn't really recognize them. Probably just some normal barrels or untrusted statues. They didn't even seem to suspect them being there though, and heard some footsteps going towards the door, it seemed they were in the clear, but then Red's voice made Stephano's heart sink to his stomach.  
  
"Look what we have here!"  
  
Followed by a scream from Mayo, a "Let me go!", and what was presumably Red pulling him out of the cabinet.  
  
"If it isn't the little runaway~"  
  
The two bros didn't hesitate and immediately got out from under the bed. Alerting the barrels to their presence.  
  
"Oh, looks like you found you friends after all."  
  
"Let the child go. He is of no harm to you." Stephano unsheathed his sword, giving the Barrels a clear threat that he was not going to let them hurt the small table.  
  
"That might be true, for now anyway." Then Red pulled Mayo to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and pointing a gun at his head with the other. "But I can use him to be of harm to you."  
  
"Mayo!" Mr. Chair yelled and tried to run to him but was held back by Stephano.  
  
"Are you insane?!" Stephano asked.  
  
"I-I agree with Stephano, maybe we should just let him go." Gonzales pleaded.  
  
"You're just saying that because you bonded with him, right?" Red asked.  
  
"Wait, bonded?" Mr. Chair was confused by that sentence, did Mayo really become friends with Gonzales?  
  
"Maybe, but that's not the point. You remember what happened last time Stephano thought the kid was dead, now you're actually threatening to shoot him. Please let him go."  
  
As Gonzales spoke, Mayo pulled one of his daggers out and aimed to stab Red's arm, but Sammy had saw and grabbed the kid's hand before he could make the final blow.  
  
"Red, please reconsider. This kid is practically your family." Sammy Sue held on tightly to Mayo's hand, who was struggling to pull it away. "This has to be some joke..."  
  
"G-Gonzales... Green... Stephano... Somebody..." Mayo struggled for air, desperately trying to pull Red's arm away from his neck.  
  
"There's no room for family in this war at this point. Nobody cares about it anymore. And you really think I'm bluffing? Then I'll show you."  
  
"NO!!!"  
  
Stephano lunged forward, but it was too late, Red had pulled the trigger. However, Mayo was perfectly fine while Stephano felt a great pain in his torso. Red had shifted his hand at the last second and shot Stephano in the chest when he least expected it. Then Red pushed his youngest brother to the ground.  
  
"You really thought I would kill a child? I'm no monster, but it gave me the perfect opportunity to get you out of the way." Red turned to the barrel scouts and untrusted statues, all who had a small look of relief on their faces. "All of you, tie them up. We'll be bringing them back with us."  
  
"Stephano please tell me you're okay." Mr. Chair got closer to his ally, but was pulled back by a barrel, and another did the same with Mayo.  
  
"Stephano please!"  
  
"I can't... I won't let..."  
  
"What...?"  
  
An Untrusted Statue walked over and reached to take hold of Stephano's arms, but was stopped by a swift slice through the neck, cutting the head clean off. Stephano was kneeling in front of his corpse, a mad grin on his face, and his eyes had turned to a bright glowing red, matching the ruby on his chest.  
  
"S-Stephano?"  
  
A blood curdling chuckle, from none other than Stephano himself. As he stood up his skin, clothes, and weapon started to become a coal black.  
  
"Stephano and I have switched places at the moment. He's not here. If you wish to call me something, he has taken to referring to me as Janus."


	3. Tsukumogami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Multiple people getting killed, possible emetophobiac triggers

"GONZALES!!! RED!!!  
  
The two Barrel Army members turned to see a more than pissed off Stephano glaring at them.  
  
"Oh bonjour brother-"  
  
"We need to talk." Stephano said, walking over to them, to which Red pointed a gun at him.  
  
"Stay back or I'll shoot." Red said.  
  
"Did the barrels really kill a nine year old boy?" Stephano asked.  
  
"W-What?" Gonzales asked, taken aback by the accusation.  
  
"Mr. Chair just told us that the barrels killed his little brother." Stephano said glaring. "I can't believe these are the people you've chosen to associate yourself with."  
  
"Wait-"  
  
"Yes, some barrels killed the kid." Red said.  
  
"How could you..." Stephano said looking at the ground.  
  
"It's the side affect of war, people die. Young or old. He was an enemy." Red said, and noticed Stephano beginning to move towards him. "Hey I said stay back or I'll-"  
  
Before Red could finish Stephano grabbed his gun and threw it to the side, and then let out a sinister chuckle.  
  
"Stephano?" Gonzales asked, then his brother lifted his head to reveal a pair of bright red eyes.

* * *

Everyone stared in shock at Stephano, or apparently Janus. Most trying to process the transformation they had witnessed. However, Gonzales and Red seemed to be very familiar with the entity that stood before them.

"T-This is him?" Sammy asked backing up slightly, and Gonzales answered her with a nod. Janus looked down at his blood covered scimitar and chuckled slightly.  
  
"I apologize for the rather brutal introduction. I'm actually not a big fan of violence." Janus then grunted and placed a hand over his bleeding bullet wound. "I can't quite say the same for you Red."  
  
"Oh god, it's still going to slow him down..." Mayo whispered, worried for the once golden but now coal black statue.  
  
"Surrender now and I won't shoot again." Red said aiming his gun straight at Janus' head, only earning another laugh.  
  
"Like that will stop me."  
  
Janus, removed his hand, and before everyone's eyes the bullet pulled itself out of his flesh, surrounding by a dark mist. Then with a simple cock of his head the bullet exploded into lead and gunpowder making everyone around him jump. Then his flesh molded back together until the wound was shut. In the confusion Mr. Chair broke free and ran to his little brother.  
  
"Holy shit..." Mayo couldn't believe anything he saw, and Mr. Chair was too stunned to even notice that Mayo swore.  
  
"Now, do you still wish to fight me? It's not like you could stand a chance." Janus said, a smug smile on his face.  
  
Red glanced at Gonzales and Sammy, confused and looking for what he should do, when a scout grabbed his shoulder.  
  
"Make a run for it, a few of us will stay back here and divert his attention."  
  
"What? I'm not going to sacrifice any more of my men-"  
  
"Just go ahead, you three are more important."  
  
Red was about to protest again, when another one of the scouts lunged at the statue as dark as the night.  
  
"Pathetic." Was all Janus said before cutting across the barrel's torso with his blade and kicking him to the ground.  
  
"Go! Now!"  
  
The trio felt themselves being pushed out the door before they finally took the initiative and ran.  
  
"Stephano!! Please snap out of it! What is this?!" Mayo almost ran to the formerly golden figure before Mr. Chair placed a hand over Mayo's eyes and held him back, who continued to scream for Stephano to come to his senses. Meanwhile Janus mutilated the enemies before them. Throats slashed open, skulls cracked, legs broken with their owners left to writhe in pain, and the puddles of blood turned into a pond at the statue's feet in no time, all while Janus had a calm smile on his face. It was too horrifying for Mr. Chair to look away, who was absolutely speechless as he watched the slaughter.  
  
Finally, there were no enemies left. Janus simply looked back at the brothers with those chilling red eyes that glowed in the low light of the room.  
  
"W-What are you planning to do?" Mr. Chair finally found his words through his horror and held his younger brother close in a protective manner.  
  
Not speaking another word, Janus stepped closer.  
  
"STAY AWAY!!" Mr. Chair screamed and pushed Mayo behind him, and then gasped as the black blade was pointed at his neck.  
  
"I don't consider you an ally, not mine anyway, but I don't intend to harm you." Janus then put his blade away.  
  
"Y-You don't?" Mr. Chair asked.  
  
"No, not yet anyway..." A smirk had etched onto Janus's face, making Mr. Chair's blood run cold. Then Janus groaned in pain and held onto his forehead. "Stephano wants out of course. I suppose I've been here long enough, I won't put up a fight..."  
  
Then the man gasped, his eyes turning gold before he fell to his knees, hyperventilating as the darkness on his body and clothing faded away and returned to it's regular color.  
  
"S-Stephano?" Mayo asked, managing to step away from his brother and kneel beside the statue.  
  
"I-I didn't want you to see that..." Stephano muttered in a terrified daze before looking back at the horrifying scene Janus left behind. "What did he make me do..."  
  
Stephano wasn't fearless, Mr. Chair knew this. The man would easily panic when being chased by the Bro with Pewdie, but the absolute terror on Stephano's face was new to him. He had never seen him so scared.  
  
"W-What was that?" Mayo asked, and Stephano let out a sad chuckle.  
  
"My guardian."

* * *

Jennifer averted her eyes from Piggeh, who was currently coughing into a bucket, not wanting to see him potentially vomit up more blood.  
  
"Where the hell are they?" Jennifer muttered to herself. They had been out for awhile, and Piggeh wasn't getting any better.  
  
"I-It'll be fine-" Then Piggeh began to cough again.  
  
"It won't if they don't hurry up..." Jennifer said, already beginning to pick up her arrow bag before she heard the door opening. "Thank god you're back, I was getting so-"  
  
As Jennifer looked up, she stopped speaking. Standing in the doorway was a Stephano covered head to toe in blood.  
  
"What happened...?"  
  
"I'll talk about it later... For now I just want to get clean." Stephano said walking over to Jennifer and holding out a bottle of laudanum. "Chair and Mayo have more... I'll be back..."  
  
Without another word, Stephano got himself a small bucket of water and a sponge before heading upstairs to his room.  
  
"What happened?!" Jennifer asked, turning her attention to the brothers, who were standing in the doorway.  
  
"He said he wanted to discuss this as a group when Piggeh isn't in so much pain." Mayo said, clearly traumatized by whatever happened.  
  
"If it makes you feel any better, he's holding information back from us too." Mr. Chair said, he had some trauma too, but was clearly more pissed than anything. "Let's just hurry and give Piggeh the medicine. He doesn't look too good..."

* * *

"GODDAMN IT!!"  
  
Sammy and Gonzales winced as Red knocked something else onto the ground.  
  
"How many men are dead by now because we fled?!" Red yelled in frustration.  
  
"We would be dead too if we stayed, we had to leave. Hopefully others did the same while they had the chance." Sammy did feel guilty for leaving too, but she had to say whatever she could to calm Red down. "However, he's had to have turned back by now, and Stephano must be exhausted, we could go back and jump him."  
  
"He'd just turn back later, and as long as Janus is there, we can't hurt Stephano enough to incapacitate him." Gonzales' finally spoke up.  
  
"Perhaps we can find a way to knock him out and tie him up?" Sammy suggested.  
  
"I suppose that's our plan... Until then, we need to report back to everyone else. We need to inform everyone of the deaths." Red said.  
  
"Hey Zally, I have a question."  
  
Zally, it was Sammy's nickname for Gonzales. He had never been too fond of it for sounding too similar to something like Sally, but after awhile he had just gotten used to it, and it felt better coming from Sammy or Red than anyone else.  
  
"What is it?" He asked.  
  
"Did Janus ever hurt you?" Sammy was normally pretty carefree, but her question was filled with undeniable dread.  
  
"No, that's the odd part. Up until that day Stephano confronted us, I was just as important to protect as the body Janus was using."  
  
"I wonder..."

* * *

"How are you feeling Piggeh?"  
  
Everyone's heads picked up when they heard Stephano's voice, seeing him walk over. All of the blood had been cleaned off, so he was back to looking like his normal self. Still, there was an uneasy air from his presence when he sat down.  
  
"Better... Jen says it will still take a few days before I heal completely, but that the laudanum should keep me from vomiting again." Piggeh said, laughing softly.  
  
"That's good... Now... Mr. Chair, go ahead-"  
  
"He turned into some weird demonic entity that was completely pitch black and he had glowing red eyes, and killed so many people- What was that?! All you said was "my guardian," WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Everyone was taken aback by Mr. Chair's yelling.  
  
"Back up- What?" Piggeh asked confused.  
  
"Alright... While we were looking for the laudanum, we ran into Red Chair, Gonzales, and Sammy Sue, as well as a few Barrel Scouts and Untrusted Statues. Red grabbed me and threatened to shoot me, but then he shot Stephano in the chest while he was off-guard. We were going to get captured, and Stephano was fatally hit but he transformed into this thing and healed himself, I don't know, I was so scared it's all a blur..." Mayo said rubbing his forehead a bit and trying to remain calm.  
  
"What did he transform into, what is..." Piggeh was still confused, and Stephano knew he had to give the full story.  
  
"Okay... This is going to be hard to explain... Let me start from the beginning..."

* * *

_"Stephano, wake up!"_  
  
The young boy opened his golden eyes and took a huge gasp of air like he hadn't been breathing for so long. Only to regret it immediately and coughed up the dust that had been flying in the air from the rubble. He felt a great pain all over his body, the entirety sore from an indescribable feeling. He looked around for whoever it was that spoke, but could see nobody. He began to believe he was alone, when the voice spoke again from inside his own head. It spoke a different language than the child did, but somehow he was able to understand it perfectly.  
  
 _"Stephano, you see those shelves a few feet in front of you? Your twin brother is sleeping on one of them. He is a small silver statue. Go pick him up."_  
  
Obeying the voice, Stephano stood up, stumbling slightly as he hurried to the shelves. He looked through the books and trinkets before picking up a silver statuette of a Arabic warrior. He then heard some distant growling.  
  
 _"This place isn't safe. There is a nearby room. Rubble has fallen over the door, but you can squeeze through."_  
  
The child hurried in his search for the hidden door. He soon noticed the pile of stones that had fallen over an ajar wooden door with a gap that was just big enough for him. He gently slid the statue through before forcing his body in. It was tight, hard to breathe, and he could feel his movements cause the stones to waver slightly, but with enough patience he managed to get through, just as he heard the growl once again.  
  
Picking up the statuette the voice claimed to be his brother, he ducked and peered through the hole, observing as a naked creature with a large torn open mouth and long claws limped around, seemingly listening for the scurrying of the boy. He felt a strange headache as he watched the creature so he looked away. It was apparent now that the voice had saved him from something incredibly dangerous.  
  
Keeping his movement quiet he slipped into the room. It was a simple room with a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a mirror, and a large window that showed Stephano that they were a few floors up from the ground. On the wall was a painting of an old man with long white hair wearing a red coat.  
  
 _"Stephano, place Gonzales on the bed, he'll need the comfort when he awakens."_  
  
Without hesitance, he placed the small statue onto the bed. He glanced at the mirror, finally observing his appearance. He was entirely golden, some things were different shades, but nothing wasn't golden besides the retinas of his eyes, his teeth, and his blood. He wore Arabic clothing not unlike the one on the statue and had a messy low ponytail peeked out from his keffiyeh, visible bags under his eyes, and his eyes themselves were puffy. His skin was decorated in bruises and scrapes, most likely a consequence of crawling through the rubble. He was incredibly dirty.  
  
 _"While we're waiting for the Servant Grunt to pass and for your brother to wake up, why don't I fix some of those wounds?"_  
  
Stephano gasped slightly as his irises turned red. In a weird hypnotic state he watched as the scrapes repaired themselves and the bruises faded. Once that was done his eyes returned to gold and he was fully awake once again.  
  
"Who are you?" Stephano asked out loud.  
  
 _"I'll let you decide. Pick a name you like and I will answer to that. Consider me your guardian. I will take care of you. All I ask in return is that you don't die."_

* * *

"After that, he kept his word. He helped guide us. He was like family to the two of us, and he made sure none of my injuries lasted, and when I was so angry that I would be blinded by rage, he'd take over to give me time to calm down. But then one day, he took over my body for far too long and made me kill a group of people... After that I swore to never let him do that again, but he's found times to take over... Just like today."  
  
Stephano finished his tale, and everyone was silent.  
  
"So you've had this thing in you, the whole time?" Mr. Chair asked, to which Stephano nodded.  
  
"Holy shit... This changes everything..." Piggeh said, still processing everything he had heard.  
  
"Yeah... If Stephano can hide something like this... And Piggeh has been hiding something that was killing him... What else is everyone hiding?" Mayo asked, glancing at the people he was now going to be living with.  
  
"Oh god... I didn't even think about that-" Jennifer said.  
  
"In that case... Let's share secrets. I've told you mine... Piggeh, care to tell us why you did not inform us about your torn stomach lining?" Stephano turned the attention to the pig.  
  
"Thanks for targeting me first Stephy." Piggeh joked. "As for that... I didn't want to worry anyone, and I didn't even think it was that bad until a bunch of blood came out of my mouth."  
  
"Next time something like this happens, tell us right away." Mr. Chair said sternly.  
  
"I will. Now what about you Green?"  
  
Mr. Chair's first name, usually something only Piggeh called him. Stephano had once jokingly tried using it himself, but Mr. Chair looked at him with the most puzzled face so he hadn't called him that since. It felt unnatural anyway.  
  
"There's not much I really hide..." Mr. Chair tried to think, looking at Mayo. "I guess there's one thing I could say, assuming Red didn't say anything first."  
  
"Say what?" Mayo tilted his head.  
  
"Here goes nothing... Mayo, we are an adopted family, none of us are biologically related-"  
  
"Wait what?!" Mayo asked, taken aback.  
  
"I had a feeling... You said you found him, and you two don't look very much alike." Stephano had mostly pieced the story together himself, and Piggeh and Jennifer weren't too shocked either.  
  
"I-I guess that makes sense in hindsight, I just never- O-Okay." Mayo wasn't too scarred by the revelation, but it did start to make him rethink what he knew about the family tree. "And you're not related to Red either?"  
  
"Nope, he and Bluey found me when I first woke up."  
  
"Wait Bluey? That Bluey? She's your sister?" Stephano immediately picked up the name.  
  
Bluey Chair was a legend in the castle. Apparently being the first member of the Bro Army, and was a woman at that, something special considering most of Pewdie's favored allies were men. However she was rarely seen. Martin claimed to have contact with her, and knowing Mr. Chair's relationship to her now, maybe that's why Mr. Chair didn't like speaking with him?  
  
"Yeah, but I haven't seen her since I was a kid, I don't know what she's doing, where she is... I don't even know if she's still alive..." Mr. Chair trailed off. "Anyway, Jennifer, do you have a secret?"  
  
"Not really... I don't have much to hide." Jennifer said before clasping her hands together and saying, in her most teen-like voice; ""I love you Pewdie!" I'm unfortunately an open book."  
  
This immediately caused the tension to lighten up a bit and cause everyone to laugh.  
  
"You've been pretty honest, I'll give you that." Stephano was still laughing a bit.  
  
"But I do have a question... You said you woke up in the castle as a kid, and Mr. Chair just said something similar... Piggeh, what about you?"  
  
"Same thing. But I did have about a year outside the castle as a normal pig before being carted off here to be slaughtered." Piggeh said, seemingly not too bothered.  
  
"So you all had childhoods... I woke up here a month or so before I met Pewdie..."  
  
The room went silent.  
  
"Maybe you came into existence a bit later than everyone else? Everyone had varying ages when we got here." Stephano said.  
  
"Piggeh said he had a life before the castle though." Mayo pointed out, causing more silence.  
  
"It could be because he's a pig and not a statue, chair, or rock..." Mr. Chair suggested, though seemed uneasy.  
  
Stephano pulled his mind back to the woman with the flowers from his dream. He was sure he had never met her in the castle, but she still seemed familiar, even after waking up, could it be...  
  
"You don't think we all had lives before the castle... Do you?" Stephano asked.  
  
"What happened to us then? What happened to our lives- Stephano, I was FIVE at the time I woke up!" Mr. Chair said, clearly unsettled by the thought of what could have happened.  
  
"What are we...?" Jennifer said more to herself than anyone else.  
  
"It's a lot to think about... Let's get some rest tonight, and think about it more in the morning." Stephano said, getting up and heading to his room to sleep.  
  
"Wait, before we all part ways, promise me something." Mayo said, stopping Stephano in his tracks.  
  
"What is it Mayo?" Stephano asked.  
  
"No more secrets between us..."  
  
After more silence, everyone agreed. But the boy could tell they weren't ready to reveal all of their secrets to one another, and they weren't ready to stop hiding things yet...

* * *

Once Stephano had fallen asleep, he found his conscience in a corridor not unlike the ones that were commonplace in the castle. It was extremely dark though and he had no lantern to guide him. He pressed his hand against the wall to feel around as he walked. Finally he felt an iron door beneath his palm and attempted to open it, but it wouldn't budge.  
  
He lifted his head and his eyes managed to adjust to the darkness long enough to make out the words "Memories" on a plaque fastened to the door.  
  
"You know what will happen if you try to open that door, right?"  
  
The voice caused Stephano to turn around, seeing the woman from his previous dream standing behind him.  
  
"If you open that door, he will escape and take your body for good. That door is the only thing that seals him inside."  
  
"But I need to know what's in there. There's something I forgot, that everyone forgot." Stephano said, turning back to the door. "If I could figure out what my story is, maybe I can help everyone else find their answers."  
  
"It's true, behind the door are answers... But also danger..."  
  
"Then I'll leave it for now." Stephano stepped away. "But one day I'll have to face it... Before I forget forever..."  
  
He turned to the woman again.  
  
"Who are you? Why are you appearing to me all of a sudden?"  
  
The woman simply smiled before answering.  
  
"I don't know... The answer lies behind the door..."


	4. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Suicide, implied drug use
> 
> The board game mentioned in this chapter is based heavily off of Tsuro

Stephano walked as far away from the base as he could, he knew they would wonder where he was. He hoped the others would snoop around his things enough to know he might not be coming back.

He pulled out his sword and observed his reflection, feeling nervous for what he was about to do.

_'If he can't heal me... Should I say a prayer? What would I even say?'_ He thought to himself. _'I guess I should just get on with this...'_

Sighing, he clasped both of his golden hands around the handle and aimed the blade towards himself. He was shaking badly, but he had to know. He took a deep breath, and with no hesitation, pushed the sword deep into his stomach. He gasped in pain, coughing up blood and falling to his knees. He starting to become dizzy as he watched blood pour out from his flesh.

He realized he had lost control to Janus when he saw a red glow emit onto what he saw below him. His hands quickly turned black and pulled the weapon out.

_"You're a fool Stephano. The only thing I asked of you was to not die, and you couldn't even keep your end of the bargain."_

He took heavy breaths as Janus mended his wounds. It was hopeless, he couldn't escape from him.

_"I hope you'll have a good explanation for all of the blood, or the tear in your clothes, because I won't be able to help you there."_

Stephano shakily got back to his feet, feeling his stomach and finding that it had completely healed, as if he hadn't just ran a sword through it a moment ago.

_"You're very lucky I could do this, for you to die at only 14 would be quite the waste."_

* * *

"So here's your room, it's a bit dusty in here, and we gotta move out some of the supplies we were using this room for-"

Mayo looked around the unused bedroom his older brother led him into. True to what he said, there was plenty of dust covering the furniture, and it seemed the room was mainly being used as storage.

"That's fine. As long as I don't have to stay locked in here, right?" Mayo asked, setting his bag down.

"No not at all." Mr. Chair said. "By the way, I wanted to apologize for my behavior today."

"You do?" Mayo asked.

"Yes, I want to keep you safe, but I was too harsh on you. And I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact you aren't nine anymore." Mr. Chair said, remorse and regret in his voice. Mayo walked over and hugged his brother, earning a hug back.

"It's okay Green. I wasn't exactly being smart today either."

"Alright, well let's do better tomorrow, okay?" Mr. Chair chuckled slightly and pulled away. "Hey, before you settle in, how about you take a look around? You might find something you like that we stashed in here, and we can avoid moving it out of here."

"Okay!" Mayo said, and as instructed start looking around.

He opened some crates finding old items, some ordinary finds like drawings and keys, but there were a few more interesting items. He picked up a metal plate with a message etched into it, it was in French so he couldn't make out what it said, it probably belonged to Stephano. As he placed it back he nearly scraped his hand against another metal piece, much rustier and smaller than that one in a more round shape. He took it out and brushed off the dust that had covered it, finding the number "814" spelled on it.

"Green, what's this?" Mayo asked, holding out the odd object.

"Huh, I've never seen that." Mr. Chair said, coming over and taking it, examining the small metal object. "It looks like a livestock eartag. It might be Piggeh's."

"What's an eartag?" Mayo had never heard of something like it.

"When you work on a farm you tend to have a lot of animals, so in order to keep track of them you give them these earrings with a number on them." Mr. Chair explained and placed it back in the crate.

"Why not just give them a name? It sounds a lot easier. I'd forget those numbers fast." Mayo said.

"Well... When you breed animals for the purpose of butchering them, you don't exactly want to get attached."

"Ah..." That kind of thinking made Mayo sad, but it made sense.

Mayo opened another crate, inside were a few things made of wood. There were four figures painted in different colors such as yellow, pink, green, and purple, and beneath them were an array of wooden squares with patterns of lines painted on them, as well a simple wooden slab with only blank squares painted on it that fit neatly at the bottom. Mr. Chair noticed what he had found and his face lit up.

"That's a game we bought from the market. It's pretty simple, we each have our little figurine and just add the squares to move around by following whatever line we're on. The game ends when all but one person has had their figurine led off the board." His older brother explained, and Mayo couldn't help but laugh. "I-I know, it sounds kinda boring when I say it like that, but in practice it's really fun-"

"It's not that. It actually sounds nice." Mayo assured. "I just didn't figure you guys were the type to sit down and play board games."

"Yeah, sometimes it's hard for all four of us to play at once, but we usually find some time to do it... It's pretty nice." Mr. Chair then looked at the pieces then back at Mayo. "I suppose if you ever want to join in and make that all five of us we should get a fifth piece. How about we head to the market tomorrow and see if anyone's selling anything suitable?"

"That sounds great!" Mayo said, excited to visit it.

"I'm glad you think so." Mr. Chair smiled, it had been a long time since he was able to have such conversations with his little brother. He watched as the boy got up and went over the wardrobe. As he opened it, he felt an intense nostalgia, inside were a few of their old outfits. The ones they used to wear when Pewdie was around. Many had been greatly damaged and ruined over time so they ended up stowing them away, keeping them just in case someone else would need them for whatever reason or if they became desperate for fire kindling.

Piggeh's old pink shirt was the most damaged of all. It had already had a few bad tatters when he met Pewdie, but over time it got incredibly ripped to the point it was barely hanging onto him. Piggeh might not have minded eventually being reduced to shirtless, but as winter came in he actually started begging to borrow some clothes from him and Stephano until they found a replacement.

"Hey Green, what's this?" Mr. Chair watched as his little brother pulled out a small bag from under the wardrobe, and it already sent a twinge of panic through him, but then Mayo opened it and pulled out a small pink pill. "Candy?"

"Don't eat that!" Mr. Chair yelled, causing the teenager to gasp and drop the tablet onto the ground. Mr. Chair hurried over, grinding the pill into the ground with his shoe before he resumed speaking. "That's not candy, this is a dangerous substance, and I don't want you to ingest any of it."

"A dangerous substance?"

"Let me put it this way. You know how Sanity Potions calm you down?" Mr. Chair said and Mayo nodded. "This will do the opposite. It will hurt you pretty badly. Never take it, okay?"

"Okay." Mayo was confused, but it seemed like his brother knew what he was saying, and it didn't sound like a risk worth taking.

"Actually, could you take this to Stephano? He wouldn't like that it's been found, and if he sees me with it, he'll assume the worst."

"Why would he do that?" Mayo asked, closing the bag again.

"It's a long story. I know I promised no more secrets, but this is something I'm not ready to talk about..." Mr. Chair sighed. "I'm sorry, I haven't exactly been at my best in a long while."

Mayo was confused to say the least, but he decided to let it go for now and obeyed. Leaving his room to go find Stephano's. He carefully opened the door, seeing Stephano asleep in his bed. For a moment he considered leaving him be to sleep, but decided Mr. Chair's request would probably be more important and if it wasn't, he'll know better for a possible next time. He went over to the sleeping statue and carefully shook him awake. Stephano groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Ugh... How long have I been asleep?"

"About 30 minutes." Mayo said honestly.

"That must be why I feel so out of it."

That, and his interaction with that lady in his dream.

_"I don't know... The answer lies behind the door..."_

Seriously, who was this woman? Was she just a memory, was she another... _Thing_ in his body like Janus? Trying to comprehend what just happened brought about a massive headache, but he tried not to visibly show it to the child at his bedside.

"Anyway, what do you need Mayo, and why couldn't I have slept for 30 more minutes?" Stephano joked.

"Green wanted me to give these to you, he said they were a dangerous substance." Mayo held out the bag, and Stephano seemed to recognize it quick in his confused half asleep daze.

"Right, the ecstacy." Stephano said and took the bag. "You're moving in the storage room right? That's how this came back out."

"Ecstacy?" Mayo asked, the word sounded weird. It kinda sounded like something Sammy would talk about, but he wouldn't really listen to.

"It's a drug. It makes you happy, but it also fucks with your head pretty badly." Stephano explained tiredly as he shoved the bag in one of his drawers. "I'll move it tomorrow."

"Really?" Mayo started to piece together what was going on as he took in the info.

"Mhm. Is that it?" Stephano asked, preparing to lay down again.

"Green wants to go to the market to get a new piece for the board game so I can play with you guys, can we do that tomorrow?" It took a minute for Stephano to process what he was talking about.

"Oh that. Yeah, we can do that after we see Martin."

"Martin?"

"Well you're not actually dead, but the records state you are." Stephano said. "Martin is our record keeper, so we'll have to go see him soon and inform him so it can be changed."

"Ah..." It sounded kinda boring, but it seemed like there would be a few fun stops, so at the very least he had that to look forward to.

"Now, may I go back to bed?" Stephano's tone heavily implied he was hoping the answer was yes.

"Yeah, I don't need anything right now." Mayo stepped away. "Goodnight Stephano!"

"Goodnight."

* * *

Every time he heard of the waterways as a child he heard only of the Kaernk and how dangerous it was to traverse the area, so it surprised Mayo that they were going to take a shortcut through there.

As they entered they saw a woman adjusting a pulley system attached to a raft below it. She had semi-long black hair with half of it shaved off, her skin was light but hinted at a non-Caucasian ancestry, perhaps Hispanic. She wore a brown blazer with the sleeves poofed out around the shoulders and a wheel shaped brooch attached to the top, an open darker brown skirt with a white frill at the bottom, a white under dress with a collar high around her neck, and a cage crinoline petticoat. She also wore dark brown fingerless gloves, a pair of light tan tights, and dark brown boots with black bows attached. She looked at them, revealing her eyes to be a cream-brown.

"Good morning Miss Wheel, what are you doing?" Mr. Chair asked the woman, apparently named Miss Wheel.

"Good morning Mr. Chair. I've just repairing the pulley. Someone broke it somehow." Miss Wheel said and stepped away from it.

"Is it in alright condition? We were hoping to use it." Jennifer was clearly nervous from the mention that apparently there was damage.

"Yeah, I just got it fixed. Just don’t go crazy with it." Miss Wheel laughed then noticed the young boy at his brother's side. "Who's the kid and when did you guys get him?"

"Do you remember Mr. Chair's little brother?"

"The one that died?"

"Apparently he's not dead. This is Mayo." Stephano tried to cut the explanation short and gave Mayo a gentle push towards the lady.

"Huh, well it's nice to meet you Mayo." She extended her hand for Mayo to shake, which he did. "I'm Miss Wheel, I'm kinda an inventor around here."

"Oh cool! Did you make this?" Mayo looked towards the raft and pulley.

"Mhm. My best invention yet it seems." She said clearly proud of her work, then looked to the adults again. "So where are you guys heading off to?"

"We're visiting Martin. Have to change some records about the boy." Stephano tilted his head towards Mayo, who had already climbed onto the raft.

"That's actually perfect." The wheel said then grabbed a small pouch from her belongings. "Could you give this to the Parrot? I found it earlier and I think it would be safer with him."

"Sure, what is it?" Jennifer asked and took it.

"All I'll say is don't touch what's inside. It's not the best idea." Miss Wheel's instruction was confusing but okay, don't touch the contents. "Anyway, have a safe trip. Oh and Stephano if you see your cousin anytime soon tell her not to practice down here. It gets distracting."

"I'll try. Merci." Stephano thanked her and climbed onto the raft with Mayo. "Careful, it's about to be a tight fit.”

Mayo nodded and true to word, it became pretty crowded fast as Piggeh, Mr. Chair, and Jennifer joined too. Piggeh took the lead and started using the pulley to steer the raft in the direction they wanted to go. Mayo watched as something invisible in the water starting swimming in their direction.

"Don't worry, as long as you keep your feet away from the edge it can't get you." Stephano assured the teen.

"Okay." Mayo nodded then changed the subject. "So is Martin a parrot? Miss Wheel said he was."

Much to his confusion, the question sparked a riot of laughter among his older peers.

"No no he’s a human corpse." Piggeh laughed before trying to compose himself. "Because of his claim that he's often repeating Bluey's instructions to us, we've started calling him her parrot."

"Don't repeat it, it's pretty mean." Jennifer quickly told him.

"Yeah." Mayo agreed.

As everyone calmed down, Stephano glanced to the pouch Jennifer carried. He couldn't explain it, but he felt an odd energy from within it. It was almost like it was calling to him.

"Jennifer? May I see that for a minute?" Stephano held his hand out to take the pouch.

"Okay, but she said not to touch what's inside." Jennifer hesitantly gave it to Stephano.

"I'm not, but she didn't say we couldn't look." Stephano said and carefully opened it. Inside was what looked to be a shard of a round gem. To the unaware they would have no idea what it was, but he did. "An Orb piece?”

"Like _those_ Orbs?" Piggeh asked looking back at him.

"I think so..." Stephano closed the bag and handed it back to Jennifer. "Now we know why she said not to touch it." 

* * *

As the group opened the door they were greeted with the smell of old paper and burning wood. They entered a massive library, rows and rows of books as far as the eye can see. Mayo hopped off Stephano's back and began looking around.

Stephano wasn't sure how Mayo convinced him to let him ride on his back, but at some point he ended up carrying the boy on his back.

"Martin?" Stephano called out, then they heard a thud and quick footsteps.

"I wasn't taking a nap I promise!" They heard as a man came out from around the corner of a shelf. He was a pale, scrawny, and tall man with greyed black hair and turquoise green eyes. He looked to be in his forties or fifties judging by the wrinkled but not downright elderly appearance he had. He wore a white button up shirt, black leggings, and brown boots, but his most interesting piece of clothing was a brown longcoat with a tan colored hood pulled around his head, and a strange turquoise colored insignia on the torso of his coat that glowed in the dim light of the library.

This must be Martin.

"It's fine, we could all use extra shut eye around here." Piggeh laughed, and when Martin saw the group he sighed of relief, but then he did a double take.

"Am I seeing a ghost?" Martin asked.

"Nope, I'm alive." Mayo said, he was perplexed that Martin apparently knew him, but mostly he was wondering how many times he would have to go through this routine of telling people he is not dead.

"That's amazing!" He said then he muttered. "Well- That makes the gravestone awkward-"

"You guys built a gravestone for me?? There was nothing to bury!"

He had a grave? That was unsettling to hear-

"We had your hat-" Mr. Chair said.

"What's going on?"

Mayo looked over and saw a young man, one who didn't look that much older than him. He had tan skin and bright yellow eyes, but most peculiar was his hair that seemed to be a flame itself, and his legs were missing and replaced with wooden prosthetics. He wore a button up shirt, something apparently common in this place, an orange sweater with a flame symbol sewn into it, a grey diamond brooch pinned under his collar, and brown shorts that made his prosthetics much more noticeable.

"Some friends came over!" Martin said. He kinda had a similar accent to Pewdie's, perhaps he was Swedish too? "Torchy, you know everyone else, but this is Mayo. He's Mr. Chair's little brother."

"Wait, I've seen you before. I would see you in the Barrel base-"

The minute Torchy said this everyone turned to look at him.

"Wait, you could see him in there and you didn't tell us?!" Mr. Chair was probably trying to hold back since Torchy was only a teenager, but it was clear he was outraged that they could have got Mayo back a long time ago.

"Mr. Chair, calm down. Keep in mind Torchy only started being our spy after the explosion incident, which was months after Mayo disappeared. Before that he never met your brother and most of us stopped talking about him. He couldn't have known this child didn’t belong there." As Martin said this, Mr. Chair calmed down significantly. 

"Right, I'm sorry Torchy."

"No, no, it's perfectly fine. I understand, and I would have told you if I knew, I promise."

"Anyway, I don't think Mayo wants to dwell on this too much longer. We need to change some of the records regarding him." Stephano said, and Martin nodded.

"Alright, right this way." Martin led the group to a shelf of journals, but Mayo stayed behind with Torchy.

"How were you able to see me in there? Security's pretty tight in that place." Mayo asked the older boy.

"Here, let me show you."

The Bros looked back and watched Torchy lead their youngest member deeper into the library.

"Are we gonna need Mayo?" Mr. Chair asked.

"No, I'm sure you all can answer enough. Besides, the poor boy probably hasn't seen another kid in awhile I imagine?" Martin said, and everyone agreed.

As Mayo followed the smell of burning wood became stronger, until they came to a makeshift fire pit of sorts.

"There isn't a fireplace in here, so we have to make do with this and be really careful." Torchy sat in front of it and patted the spot next to him, to which the small table complied.

"Okay, once we begin you have to be really quiet so you won't be heard." Torchy said and held out his hand, and Mayo took it. "Now, close your eyes."

Mayo did, and waited for ten seconds until Torchy told him to open them. When he did he tried not to gasp. He was back in the Barrel base. He couldn't see his body, but he could still feel Torchy holding his hand. He started to realize they were in the place of a torch on the wall.

"So what happened yesterday? None of the scouts or knights that were with you came back." He recognized the stern voice and looked over to see Iron Maiden. Like usual her greyed auburn hair was in elegant ringlets, atop it rested a crown of spikes, and she wore a dark sheer turtleneck and black leggings beneath an iron breastplate, vambraces, poleyns, and long sabatons.

"Okay, can't put it off any longer, we had hoped someone would come back." Red said, rubbing his forehead. His outfit was different than last time's. He still wore that white dress shirt, once again the apparent most popular fashion piece in Brennenburg, and his black dress pants and shoes, but he had switched his red waistcoat out for a black one and a red blazer with an almost hypnotic stream of black running all over it. "We had an encounter with Stephano and... _Him_. And the scouts had us evacuate to fend him off."

"You sacrificed seven of our men?" Iron Maiden asked, a terrifying anger in her voice. Mayo would most certainly not miss that.

"We really didn't want to madame, we even tried to kill Stephano, but Janus was unstoppable." Gonzales said, trying to defend the chair.

"Next time, put the bullet in his head."

Before they could listen any further Torchy let go of his hand, and Mayo had to deal with the sudden return of the library in his vision.

"Sorry, takes some getting used to." Torchy apologized and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's fine." Mayo giggled. "But you can do that?! That's so cool!"

"Thanks." Torchy laughed a bit. "This is also why those records are important. If we know you exist, we can make sure you're safe in case the Barrels are sending an attack in your direction."

"Thank you." Mayo was pretty amused at the way he phrased that, but it actually sounded really cool.

"Also, since you know now make sure no Barrels find out about this. If they know I can do this, they will literally kill me. That's why I told you to be quiet too." Torchy sounded really scared at the idea, and Mayo knew he was right to be.

"I promise. It'll stay between us."

"Thank you. Now, who's Janus?"

Oh god right, they mentioned him-

"I'm not the person to ask that question." Even though Mayo hated the secretiveness, it wasn't his secret to share. Stephano deserved the chance to at least explain it himself.

"Okay..."

"Alright, that should be all the info needed." Martin said and closed the journal with Mayo's info inside, storing it back in the shelf. "Was there anything else you wanted to cover while you're here?"

"Yes, Miss Wheel wanted us to give you this." Jennifer said and handed the pouch to Martin. "Steph thinks it's a piece of the Orb."

"The Orb?" Martin asked and looked inside. "Oh god it is. I'm glad you brought this here."

He set the pouch aside.

"I'll make sure this is stored somewhere safe."

"Thank you. Alright now let's call Mayo over and get going. I'm sure we wanna get to the marketplace soon." Piggeh said, nudging Mr. Chair a little.

"Right, right. Mayo!" Mr. Chair called, and on cue, the torch and table came over.

"Who's Janus?" Torchy asked immediately. Mayo was a bit worried they would assume he blabbed, but thankfully it was the total opposite.

"You two looked into the Barrel base and they mentioned him, huh?" Stephano asked, and both of the boys nodded.

"Janus? Like the Roman god?" Martin asked, and honestly they weren't surprised he caught that reference.

"Yes and no. Martin, I may have left some info off of my records."

"Like what?" Suspicion was clear in Martin's tone.

"Like I have a second person inside me that occasionally takes over and murders people?" Stephano tried to say it quickly and brush it over, but both Martin and Torchy had clearly been able to make it out, and were shocked.

"You have a **WHAT**?!" Martin asked. "Can I see him?"

" **NO!!!** " All five of them yelled this at once, taking Martin and Torchy back somewhat.

"I'm sorry. I try not to let him come out, that's why I didn't feel it imporant to say anything." Stephano said.

"That's nuts-" Torchy was still trying to process that.

"I suppose nothing can be done..." Martin said, picking up the book with Stephano's info inside of it. "Is there anything else your group is hiding?"

Everyone said no, but the doubt was clear on Martin's face.

"Right, you can go." Martin said. "Thank you for telling me about Mayo and... Janus..."

"Hey Torchy, if I keep a candle lit in my room would you be able to contact me whenever you want?"

"Mhm!" Torchy nodded.

"That's so cool! I'll have to try it soon! I'll see you later!"

"Bye Mayo, it was great meeting you. I'm certain we'll become good friends."

The Bros bid their farewells to Martin and Torchy, and after they left Martin sighed and placed his hand against his forehead.

"Is there no trust in this army?"

"I don't think so sir, but you're not exactly innocent either." Torchy joked as he went back to his fire pit, and Martin couldn't help but laugh.

"I suppose I'm not..."

* * *

Mayo's eyes lit up as he followed the others into the marketplace. It was a large hall filled with many handmade booths and tables selling and trading items.

"One thing we have to warn you about Mayo is that not everyone is a Bro here. Although Barrels are prohibited, unaligned people are allowed here, especially since they don't exactly have an army to help them out, so you have to be careful and not assume everyone is an ally, some people might even be dangerous." Jennifer whispered to Mayo.

Although the thought of dangerous people was scary, he also heard he didn't have to tell someone he was alive again, so that actually sounded nice.

"You know what, I'm going to wait outside, come get me when you're done. Goodbye!" Before anyone could say anything, Stephano opened the door and left.

"What was that about?" Mayo asked before Piggeh poked his shoulder and pointed to a booth.

"Stephanie's here."

The booth his attention was being drawn to was filled with many objects made of metals. Behind the booth was a dark skinned girl in a yellow dress and brown and green plaid shirt, as well as boots with baggy black socks sticking out and gloves made of some kind of leather-like resistant material, her dark hair kept in two low hanging pigtails, though two tufts of hair stuck out at the top of her head. She was facing away from them, dunking a piece of metal into a vat of acid before taking it out and etching something onto it.

Was she the creator of the metal plate he found in the storage?

"Who is she?" Mayo looked to his companions.

"That is Stephanie, the "Acid Artist." She's Stephano's ex-girlfriend and she's pretty crazy about him." Piggeh said. "And you know what, I don't blame him for wanting to leave. Last time I met her she tried to cut my throat open for flirting with him. I'm gonna go check something else out."

Piggeh then seperated from the group, heading deeper into the market to look for whatever he wanted.

"Can I go check her booth out?" Mayo knew it was probably a bad idea, but he was curious now, after seeing her handiwork for Stephano he kinda wanted to see what else she had.

"Sure, but if she tries to ask about us or Stephano let me do the talking. Just look at her pieces and don't engage beyond what's necessary." Mr. Chair instructed quietly.

"While you guys are doing that I'll go see if Sven and Jesus are here. They might make a new board game piece for us, and I need to get more arrows anyway." Jennifer said and went to find this apparent "Sven and Jesus," and as she did Mr. Chair took Mayo's hand and brought him over to Stephanie's booth.

As they came over, the girl turned around, and Mayo had to fight the urge to reel back. Half of her face was covered in a severe burn that had become a purple-leaning shade of red. Her green eyes seemed vacant and staring off into the distance. Hanging in front of the scar was a single strand of blonde hair, and while that was not horrifying, it did kinda make him wonder how she got it. Hair dye doesn't exist in Brennenburg.

Mr. Chair seemed to notice Mayo's fright and held his hand a little tighter.

"Oh, Mr. Chair. Good to see you~ Who's this little one?" Stephanie asked looking at the young boy, a smile on her face that sent chills up his spine.

"This is Mayo, he's my little brother. Hey, what's this?" Mr. Chair then diverted her attention to one of her etched masterpieces. He realized what the game was going to be for awhile, Stephanie would try to ask a question, Green would give her a blunt short answer, and then change the subject fast.

Assured he had it handled, he decided to tune them out and begin looking through the pieces. A few statuettes of Stephano, small weapons, something of an eye painted red, there were even dishes. What his eye was drawn to though was a small brooch, not really the most popular fashion piece, but was probably something of a trend here considering how many people he met that had one. It was small, silver, and round with a birdcage etched into it. He picked it up and tugged at his brother's sleeve.

"Hey Green, can I get this?" Mayo asked and held out the brooch.

"A birdcage?" He examined the image inside the circle. "Why would you want something like that?"

"I think it fits me." Mayo said.

"If you want to get it for him that'll be two jars of oil. Or a quick visit from Stephano." Before Stephanie even finished her sentence, Mr. Chair had placed the jars down, causing her to sigh. "Very well, enjoy."

Mayo happily pinned the brooch onto his tie and followed his brother away, as they were Jennifer and Piggeh came over. Jennifer handed him a small wooden figure like the others, this one painted white. They gave quick compliments to his new piece of jewelry before they headed out, deciding not to keep Stephano waiting too long.

"Allos, did you all find what you nee- Oh god did you buy something from her?" Stephano immediately noticed his ex's work on Mayo's tie.

"Yes." Mayo laughed.

"Alright, well if we're good, let's head home. I'm starving." Stephano was about to walk away, but then Piggeh lightly grabbed his cape to hold him back. "What is it Piggeh?"

"Why don't we stop at one more place? Since Mayo is back, and I'm alive, why don't we make our dinner a celebration?"

These words made Stephano's eyes go wide.

"Oh no Piggeh, please no-"

"What is it?" Mayo asked, perplexed at such a reaction.

"He wants to go to the Horny Hog!"

"Filthy Pig, Stephano. Filthy Pig."


	5. The Castle and The Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: Kind of underage drinking, implied child abuse, gore, body dysmorphic thoughts, and emetophobiacs should beware

She could hear that idiotic voice of his from inside Section C. Everyone liked adventuring with him, so she should have too, right? But his words felt like harsh scratching against her ears.

Sven would be disappointed in her, but she made up her mind, and if he wanted to follow her he always could. If not, then he made up his mind too.

She looked down, of course this weirdo talked her into sitting on top of a crate and getting stuck up here. Would he even remember to lower her down? Probably not, he rarely showed concern for the harm he did to his companions.

Deciding the only way was down, she took out the letter opener she grabbed that morning and a laudanum bottle she snuck into her pocket while he wasn't looking. She heard him coming.

_'How convenient... Might as well make the message clear.'_

She poured the enhanced medicine into her mouth, being careful not to swallow, and placed her blade against the rope holding this crate up.

_'Gonzales, you were right.'_ She thought and made a quick cut, sending both her and the crate tumbling down onto Pewdie. _'The crown isn't worth it.'_

* * *

Sammy played with her thumbs, Red got called into a impromptu meeting with Iron Maiden, and only Gonzales was allowed to accompany him. She looked around the community dining room, watching as her allies grabbed food from the cook and sitting down with their friends. She was hungry, but she promised she'd wait. Just as she was about to say fuck it, she saw her chair and statue come back into the area.

"So how did things go with Iron Maiden?" Sammy asked as Gonzales and Red sat next to her.

"She gave Red quite the lecture-" Gonzales said sheepishly, looking to Red.

"I deserved it this time. I got arrogant and ended up costing our men their lives." Red's hands were covering his face, elbows on the table to keep him from falling over like he probably would have let himself otherwise.

"Red, I'm glad you're going to be more careful, but you can't beat yourself up about it." Sammy Sue said then looked to a passing Broom. "Hey Broom, can you grab some food for us?"

"Nope, I'm going out. Not going to eat here."

"I'll do it. Enjoy your outing Broom." Gonzales said and stood up, leaving to go get their sustenance.

"Sammy, I have to beat myself up for it. If I'm not careful, this can happen again." Red explained.

"Right, right..." She said and leaned against him. "Will you at least accept a hug?"

"Sure..." Red immediately felt her arms around him, he was pretty sure she was preparing to do it even if he said no. Nevertheless, he couldn't help wrapping his arms around her too. 

Sammy then placed her hand on his cheek, looking up at him before leaning in and kissing him, which he happily returned.

"Ahem."

The two pulled away as Gonzales placed their food on the table, giving them a non-serious glare, to which Red rolled his eyes and grabbed him, pulling him into a kiss too.

"Hey threesome, break it up!"

They all looked to see Broom staring at them from the door.

"Get out of here already!!" Sammy laughed.

* * *

"Alright, so before we get in there Mayo, I need to give you a warning like Jen gave you at the market." Piggeh said as they descended into the basement.

"Is it another unaligned people are allowed in place?" Mayo asked.

"It's completely neutral territory. Bros, Unaligned, and Barrels are allowed in." Piggeh said and Mayo's eyes widened.

"S-Seriously? Why??" Mayo was admittedly a little scared of running into Barrels.

"Probably because they learned from the Community Base that if you're going to have one singular location, you can't give the Barrels a reason to attack." Stephano said, and that immediately raised questions in the young table.

"The Community Base?" Mayo asked.

"It was this area of the castle that the Bros established a little after it's formation. It was basically a place for the Bros to rest, get supplies from, and just talk with each other." Stephano explained, he had a sad tone in his voice.

"What happened to it?"

"Before it could become too big to attack, the Barrels sent a raid, trashed the place, and injured plenty of us. After that we kept our distance and stayed in hiding until Martin and Torchy implemented the records system, which would allow us all to keep track each other and set up meetings. And even then they're always prepared to evacuate their room and move elsewhere." Mr. Chair continued Stephano's story. "You were a little kid when that all happened, so I didn't tell you."

Now that Mr. Chair mentioned it, Mayo could remember one day when Green came home horrified. He had a bigger load of supplies than usual, and only mumbled something about grabbing what he could and running.

"Is evacuation common?" Mayo couldn't help but ask.

"We haven't had to in awhile, but yes. Relocating is very common." Stephano admitted. "I suppose that’s something you'll have to be ready for. Keep all your valuables where you can grab them quickly, and have a candle lit somewhere so Torchy can alert you if a raid is heading our way."

"Got it..."

"Piggeh, should we really be going here?" Stephano looked to his swine friend. "This _is_ a prime opportunity for someone to tail us back."

"It'll be fine, I do this all the time-"

"There's a difference when it's just one person Piggeh. You can lose anyone quickly and you've told me you tend to run around for awhile to make sure of it. With a group that's a lot of people to hide."

"Steph, you forget. I have great ears and a great nose. I'll know if someone is coming after us. Besides, now that you've shared your worries, I'm sure we'll all be on high alert." 

He had a point...

"Alright, fine. But if we have to move within the next few days, I'm not letting you forget it."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Is this common?" Mayo whispered.

"Yes, very." Mr. Chair whispered back, laughing a bit.

"Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it Mayo. If anything happens Jens will throw them out." Piggeh said looking back at Mayo, who abruptly stopped laughing with his brother.

"Oh-"

"Ah, we’re here!" Piggeh ran ahead from the group, running to a door with one of those sliding hatches for someone to peer through. He knocked and the hatch opened to reveal a pair of brown eyes.

"Entry fee please."

"Come on Jens, it's just me and my friends." Piggeh said.

"Right, you can come in, everyone else, entry fee."

"You're lucky we brought extra supplies to trade at the market." Stephano glared at Piggeh before digging two tinderboxes and sanity potions out of his bag and handing them through the slot. Then they heard the sound of a locking mechanism.

"Alright. Come on in." The door opened, revealing a very tall man with dark brown hair and a matching stubble beard and pair of pig ears. He wore a short sleeved wine-purple button up, dark brown jeans and dress shoes. He had tan skin with large scars on his arms, and he had a tusk sticking out of his mouth.

As the group entered Mayo observed the room. It was filled with tables where many different people sat. The tables and walls were decorated with what looked to be mistletoe, and the area was well lit, making the place seem much calmer than the darkness filled halls of the castle. Near the back was a makeshift bar where a darker skinned boyish looking woman with chocolate brown lopped rabbit ears atop fluffy brown hair and pink eyes was serving drinks. Mayo could see she wore a pink sweater, but the rest of her clothing was hidden behind the bar. She had a scar on her cheek and one of her ears. 

Behind the bar he could see a kitchen area where two pigs were working. One had the same skintone as Bunny and had dark brown hair and a matching beard. His ears were a lighter brown. The other had very dark skin like dusk and had long black hair tied into a ponytail. His ears were a black-grey. He couldn't make out much else about their appearance from the distance. There were also two other pigs waiting the tables.

One was a pale woman with short pink hair and a large red bow in the back. Her skin was decorated in freckles and her eyes were a bright green. She wore pink eyeshadow, heavy mascara, and red lipstick along with a dark red corset, fingerless evening gloves, a choker, a bright red dress with a frilly white petticoat, and dark red flats. She had dark red scars on her chin, her back, and one of her legs.

The other was another pale skinned man with very light pink hair bordering on white with streaks and spots of brown. His ears matched and atop his head was a dark brown fedora. His irises looked to be near black. He had a scar running across his face and was completely missing his left arm, leaving only a stump beneath his sleeve which was tied into a knot. He wore a white long sleeved t-shirt, a dark brown vest, a pair of black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

Mayo was so focused observing his surroundings he hadn't noticed a girl walking by him, and probably wouldn't have if she hadn't bumped into him.

"Ah, sorry." She gave a quick apology, Mayo only catching a flash of her bright blue eyes and her large mass of curly pink hair before she left the tavern, carrying what looked to be a crate of food.

"Jens! Good to see you buddy!" Piggeh said hugging the boar who welcomed them in.

"It's good to see you too Piggeh. Since you're here, perhaps you would like to come to the bedroom with me~?"

Jens' offer grossed everyone out except the pig himself, who only laughed and pulled away.

"I would, but I'm here for a celebratory night out with my group." Piggeh went over to Stephano and placed an arm over his shoulder, who only narrowed his eyes, removed his arm, and stepped away from him.

"Oh, well how about after?"

"Nah, they're kinda relying on me to make sure we get back safe."

"Aww come on. What about before you leave-"

"The answer is no Jens, stop asking." Stephano said and started leading the group away from the door, Piggeh giving a quick apology before rushing to catch up. Stephano could feel Jens' glare at the back of his head. They never liked each other. Jens saw Stephano as a killjoy and Jens always creeped him out. For what it's worth, he didn't like the Filthy Pig much in general. Taverns were never his thing.

"That was rude Steph, but I'll give you a pass because I didn't want to sit there too long. Let me talk to Bunny real quick then we can get a table." Piggeh said, heading towards the bar in the back.

As they did the ears of the rabbit working there perked up and bright pink eyes looked towards the group. 

"Oh Piggeh! Welcome back! I see you brought your group." Bunny said with a very sweet voice and smile.

"Yep! We also brought an old friend." Piggeh said placing a hand on the teen table's shoulder. 

The woman spent a few seconds examining Mayo before she gasped, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Mayonnaise? Is that you?"

"Mhm. I'm guessing we've met?" Mayo asked, noticing the emotional reaction immediately, walking closer to the bar.

"Of course! Well, when you were three... You and your brother would come here all the time to spend time with Piggeh if it wasn't the other way around." Bunny chuckled and smiled, clearly nostalgic, before she became emotional again, taking the young boy's hand. "It broke my heart to hear that you were dead... I'm glad to see that wasn't true, but what happened? How are you here?"

Clearly in a place like this, the dead rising was not out of the question for her.

"The Barrels faked it. They pretended they had killed him when they were actually keeping him captive." Piggeh explained. "Little man managed to escape, and now that he's back we want to celebrate, any suggestions?"

"Well since he's still a growing boy, how about a free meal of his choosing?" Bunny suggested, and Mayo's face lit up upon being told he could pretty much choose whatever he wanted. 

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you mademoiselle." Stephano said warmly. Although he may not have liked this place much, he had a respect for Bunny. She was a very sweet and hardworking woman, and while he may not have gotten along with Piggeh, her fondness for the swine was endearing.

"One more thing, could you ask Rudolph to wait our table?" Piggeh asked, a little quieter than usual. Bunny simply sighed before whispering out an okay. "Thank you!"

With that, Piggeh led them to an empty table where they all sat whilst Bunny called for Rudolph. Immediately Mayo noticed the one lady pig look and hurry over, almost hurrying to place handmade menus on the table.

"It's good to see you! I'll serve you tonight~" The sow said, her gaze almost exclusively on Piggeh. Her voice was very deep and mature, but still carried an air of aloof naivety.

"Oh... Berta!" Piggeh was trying to be polite, but it was clear he was deeply uncomfortable with this woman, probably not helping matters was that she kinda towered over him. She seemed to notice the discomfort.

"Aww Piggeh, didn't you miss me? I missed you." Berta giggled before she felt a tap on her shoulder, looking back to see the spotted one armed pig.

"Hey Berta, I was assigned this table, I'll take it from here." Rudolph said, attempting to butt into the situation.

"Nonsense, you've been swamped all day. Let me take this." Berta insisted, and the other two pigs quickly realized there was no convincing her to leave.

"Okay, it's all yours." Rudolph started to leave, mouthing what seemed to be "Good luck." to Piggeh before he went back to his other tables.

"Thank you!" Berta called out before looking to the table. "Are there any drinks I can start you with?"

"Water for the kid and myself." Mr. Chair said immediately, much to Mayo's confusion.

"I'll have water too." Jennifer said chuckling.

"Cider please." Piggeh asked then looked to Stephano. "What about you Stephano? Are you gonna get water too or have a little fun?"

"I'll be festive. I'll have rum." Stephano's choice seemed to amuse Piggeh and worry Mr. Chair and Jennifer.

"Are you sure Steph? You never really last long drinking-" Jennfier asked.

"I'll be fine, I'm getting better. I'll just pace myself." Stephano assured them.

"Berta, be sure the alcohol is watered down." Mr. Chair looked to their waitress, annoying Stephano but the statue made no attempt to object. He had enough self awareness to know he was right.

"Of course. I'll be right back~" Berta said cheerfully before leaving.

"So Green, who's your clingy admirer?" Mayo asked once she was out of earshot, making his older brother's face go red and everyone else laugh.

"One, please be more polite than that, Berta's excitable but she's not bad, two, I don't have one because I don't play around with people like those two." Mr. Chair pointed to the snickering pig and statue.

"Hey I'm usually pretty forward about not wanting to be anything official, Berta was just my first time dealing with someone who wanted to be, and I didn't know to clarify first yet." Piggeh defended himself.

"I never intend to be a heartbreaker or womanizer or whatever you call me, I've never even brought any of my past partners to bed. Stephanie just has issues." Stephano said, now a little annoyed himself.

"Wait, how many people has Stephano been with?" Mayo asked, and the statue took a moment to think.

"Stephanie was my first girlfriend, I took a break from her and had a brief thing with Jennifer." Stephano gestured to Jenny, who smiled sheepishly as Mayo looked a little shock to hear they dated. "Then we broke up and I got back together with Stephanie. Then I dated an angel statue, never found out what happened to her. There was this French player... Kissed Sammy Sue at one point back when she was a more neutral figure, but we weren't a couple, and she was dating Bro at the time. He was really angry at me. I don’t even want to think about that thing with Jesus. I actually went on another date with Jennifer, really didn't work out so we broke things off for good... I think that's it."

"You **think**?" Mr. Chair asked while Stephano shrugged.

"Hold on. You kissed Sammy? And she was dating someone when you did so?" Mayo asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Stephano said bluntly, and if he had his rum already he would have started drinking to avoid talking further.

"Well, I think we all know who Stephy was really into most of that time~" Piggeh said, nudging Stephano who glared.

"Piggeh, I've told you time and time again, I did not have feelings for Pewdie." They might have kept on, but Stephano had a terrifying look in his eyes, and after learning Janus could come out when he got too angry, they silently decided to leave it be.

Mayo was the first to change the subject as he looked at the menu, seeing a bunch of different options.

"Where do these guys get all this food?" Mayo asked, looking at Piggeh mainly.

"Mix of two things. Bunny can't eat meat so she has a garden where she grows food for herself. As for other things, Adolf back in the kitchen looks pretty human compared to the rest of us, so he'll hide his ears and scars and go buy stuff in the town." Piggeh explained.

"I see. I have another question. Why are all of the other pigs so tall?" Mayo asked.

"Pigs are actually really big, like bigger than cows most of the time, the only reason I'm not is-"

"Malnutrition." Stephano cut in. "Piggeh won't eat meat, so he hasn't properly grown. The blood vomiting was new, but it wasn't the first time he got seriously sick on us."

"Yeah, Stephano kinda said it best-" Piggeh chuckled nervously. "But eating meat makes me feel sick anyway-"

"Blood vomiting?!" As if they had summoned her, Berta hurried over, placing the drinks on the table before cupping Piggeh's face. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"

"Berta, calm down. That's a little loud for a place like this." Jennifer placed a hand on Berta's arm, getting her attention. "He's already doing a lot better."

"Pigs eat meat?" Mayo asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. Thought they were herbivores, but no, they're omnivores." Stephano chuckled a little.

"It doesn't matter. My Piggeh's just a little fun sized! Anyway, what would you like to eat?" Berta asked.

"Can I have the chicken and black bean stew?" Mayo asked.

"Of course." Mr. Chair said, and Berta took note of the order.

"I'll have the herbed brussel sprouts. Could I also have some candied almonds?" Piggeh asked.

"Sure thing~"

"Alcohol and seeds, no wonder your stomach lining got torn." Mr. Chair said clearly disappointed.

As everyone else ordered their food and Berta took off again, Stephano asked another question.

"So Bunny said Mayo was three when she met him, that would have made you fourteen and fifteen when you met, wouldn't it?"

"More like thirteen and fourteen, Mayo's birthday is in January." Mr. Chair corrected.

"Well, I knew you two were friends before the Bro Army, but I didn't know it was that far back." Stephano said.

"Yeah, we were super close when we were kids. We even shared a bed several times." Mr. Chair smiled as he recalled happy memories.

"You shared a bed with Piggeh?" Stephano asked in disbelief.

"He was innocent back then."

"What happened?" Jennifer piped in.

"I got laid." Piggeh joked.

"Not by Mr. Chair right?"

"I know Mayo is a teenager, but can we have some class around him?" Mr. Chair was about ready to bury his face in his hands.

"Right, right, change of subject." Jennifer laughed. "So what did Bluey and Red think of your friendship?"

"They had no idea, because at that point they were gone. I found Mayo after they disappeared." Although he tried to brush it off with a nonchalant tone, it was clear that Jenny had accidentally hit a sore spot, and Stephano wished he had warned her that Mr. Chair said he was already alone at eleven.

"It's kinda weird to think I have a sister I've never met... I wonder if we could really be considered siblings." Mayo was curious about Bluey.

"I wouldn't be too hung up on it. Not a lot of people have met Bluey, she's good at staying out of people's radar." Stephano assured the boy. "I've never even met her, and I was considered Pewdie's favored ally."

"Never met her either." Piggeh joined in.

Then silence.

"Jennifer. You're being quiet. Have you met Bluey?" Mr. Chair asked, clearly shocked.

"Yeah... I did... A long time ago..."

"Well we have some brothers here who haven't seen her in awhile, wanna tell us what happened?" Piggeh suggested.

"It was back at the explosion incident... When Torchy was taken in by Martin... I never revealed it was actually me who brought him there... Or why..."

* * *

Jennifer groaned as she came to, surrounded by ankle deep water. Her black hair flowed around her as a ringing was constant in her ears. It took her a moment to realize the corner of her mouth was submerged in the water, and that it had a strange taste. That's when she realized she was tasting a small stream of blood and she could hear agonized crying.

That's when it came back to her. Pewdie was adventuring with a young boy named Torchy. He only looked be 11 or 12, she wasn't entirely sure. Pewdie had her set off an explosion so he could proceed, and Torchy got a bit lost in the confusion. She had managed to take cover, but that poor kid probably got caught.

That's when she heard splashing. The Kaernk must have gotten in after the entry was opened and was now heading for the injured child. Realizing she had no time to lose she forced herself up and vaulted over the boulder that had hidden her from sight.

"HEY, FISH FUCK, OVER HE-"

"JESUS! You scared the shit out of me!"

Jennifer paused as she noticed it was not a kaernk, but a young woman. She had very pale skin with long curly white hair held in a ponytail, her eyelashes also matched the pure white, with her large dark blue eyes sticking out among the snow-like hues. She wore a dark blue cardigan with a light blue tank top, some gray jeans, and a pair of blue dress shoes which were soaked to the brim. She stood beside the sobbing Torchy, who laid still in the water. The fire in his hair and eyes had been put out by the water leaving them both a dark ashy brown. Most of him had survived the explosion, but his legs were gone. His left leg was mostly gone below the knee, and his right was obliterated to the thigh. Anything remaining of the missing legs were now in small chunks floating in the water.

It was at this point she wished her epic line was better than "Hey, fish fuck."

"O-Oh, god. I'm so sorry." Jennifer said. "I got knocked out, I just came to-"

"It's fine." The woman said before kneeling down to the boy, taking off her cardigan and wrapping it around one of the stumps.

"Here, use mine too." Jennifer said, hurrying over and taking off her gray jacket.

"Thank you." She said and took it, wrapping it around the other as a makeshift tourniquet.

"W-What are we gonna do?" Jenny asked, sitting next to the boy who was now reduced to whimpers.

"I know someone who can help him. She lives in a library nearby, and helped me in a similar time of need." The woman said as she finished. She reached under the boy to pick him up, but paused and looked at the stone. "You look like you're really strong. Could you carry him? I'll lead the way."

Jennifer knew she was talking about her bulky looks, but unlike every other time someone would point it out, this actually made her feel good, like it was unambiguously a good thing. She tried to keep the awe off her face, as this was not the time.

"Of course." Jennifer said, carefully picking up the torch with ease.

"Thank you so much." The woman said and got up, noticeably having some trouble as she did so. Then she walked over to the wall and picked up something leaning against it Jennifer hadn't noticed. A wooden cane bedazzled with blue gems. "Anyway, onward."

Jennifer followed the woman as she led her back into the normal halls of the castle, cradling the injured child in her arms.

"What's your name miss? I'm Bluey." The woman, apparently named Bluey, asked looking back a little.

"I'm Jennifer."

"Jennifer? That's a lovely name." Bluey said with a smile on her face, and Jen had to once again hide the awe she felt. This woman was clearly confident, and quite pretty, and so far she had given two compliments to her.

Kinda? Or maybe Jennifer had been insulted so much she was just taking regular kindness as praise? It made her too sad to really think about it.

"So who is this woman that can help?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh, they're not- Their name is Martin. They're a scientist. When I was younger I got in an incident where my legs got shattered. Martin helped me get better and took me in while I was healing. My legs are still pretty weak, but I can actually move again, especially if I keep my cane handy." Bluey held up her cane a little as she finished before she resumed walking with it.

Martin? She knew a Martin. Anytime she thought Pewdie was being too mean to her she'd remember the kind of stuff Pewds would put the poor sap through. Her Martin was most certainly a man though.

"Ah, we're here." Bluey said and opened a door leading into a large library. What Jennifer hadn't expected was to see her Martin standing over a rotting corpse on a table, cutting it open before he looked to the door with wide eyes.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting guests. I was just doing some research-" Martin said stepping away, then he noticed the young boy. "Oh dear, what happened to the little one?"

"He got caught in some kind of explosion. I heard it and came running to check it out." Bluey said then gestured for Jennifer to step inside. Hesitantly, she started bringing the boy closer to Martin.

"Poor thing." Martin said. "Bluey, could you get me some spare clothes, towels for the three of you, and your old wheelchair? It'll do for now until I can find an alternative."

"Of course." Bluey said and went deeper into the library. Martin meanwhile grabbed the medical tools he was using on his specimen, a bucket of water, a washcloth, and a normal chair.

"I'd put him on the table, but I don't think he'd want to lay there right now. Could you set him down Jennifer?" Martin asked, and Jennifer carefully placed Torchy in the chair, as she did Martin started unwrapping the wounds and getting to work.

"Why the spare clothes by the way?" Jennifer asked.

"You three are soaked. You and Bluey will definitely need to change before you leave or you'll catch a cold, and the sooner the kid is out of these the less likely chance he'll get an infection." Martin explained.

"Oh, right." Jennifer said, looking down to make sure her dark gray tank top hadn't gotten transparent. Bluey soon came in carrying a few towels, two dresses, and a button up shirt and leggings.

"Thank you älskling." Martin said taking some of the towels, the shirt, and the leggings. "You two can go elsewhere in the library to change."

The girls nodded and went in separate directions. Jennifer hid behind a bookcase as she examined the dark purple dress. It was loose and adjustable with the many ribbons in the back, so it was able to fit her, but she still felt odd being in such clothing with her body. Nevertheless, she knew she didn't have much of a choice until she got back to her base. As she dried her body and hair, she remembered the violet ribbon she always keeps tied on the side of her long black hair. She took it out. Then as she finished getting dressed she pulled her hair back, using her ribbon to tie it up into a ponytail.

She then went back to the entry area, seeing Bluey in a long blue sunday dress with her white hair down standing near Martin, still patching up the now dazed boy.

"Did you give him alcohol?" Bluey asked.

"He wanted me to dull the pain." Martin said nonchalantly.

Bluey rolled her eyes, then noticed Jennifer. Her cheeks became a light pink then she laughed a little. "Copying me now, are ya?"

Jennifer for a moment felt embarrassed and wanted to hide, but then she noticed something. "If I am, you are too!"

"Yeah." Bluey chuckled then walked closer. "You know, this style suits you."

At this Jennifer could not hide how flattered she was. It was one thing to call her strong, it was another thing to say she actually looked good and mean it. Bluey didn't seem to mind.

"I'm afraid he'll have to stay for awhile. I'll do my best to take care of him." Martin said.

"Alright, hopefully his group will be able to track him here." Bluey said then looked back at Jenny. "I'll have to leave now. Take care Jennifer."

With that Bluey left.

* * *

"Bluey was one of the few I felt believed in me. I was in a desperate time, so I don't know if I'd still feel that way if I met her again, but I just never thought to tell anyone. I didn't want anyone ruining it for me. Not to mention how guilty I felt that I had been there when Torchy got hurt, and I probably could have saved him if I had acted quicker."

"Don't blame yourself Jen. It was a sudden and scary situation. If Torchy was a lot more sound of mind, he probably would have been assuring you that you just being there was enough. Especially since it sounds like Bluey would have been helpless to save him if your strong self hadn't been there." Piggeh assured, and Jennifer couldn't help but smile. "You could probably body slam Janus if you wanted."

"Let's not make such a risk." Stephano said quickly, making everyone laugh.

"Well, if what you say is true, this means Martin wasn't lying about knowing Bluey. He even helped her..." Mr. Chair said.

"I wonder if that's why she disappeared." Mayo suggested.

"Guys-"

"I hope it was a reason like that..." Mr. Chair said.

"Ahem."

"What?" Mr. Chair asked Piggeh, who was clearly trying to get their attention. The pig then pointed over his shoulder. Everyone looked to see Broom entering the tavern. Her straw blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with a small rope, she wore a dark brown long sleeved shirt, a golden upside down heart shaped locket on a rope, a poofy straw-like skirt, a rope belt, brown tights, and a pair of dark brown work boots.

Broom used to be a Bro, and used to work with Sven and Jesus, she and Jennifer even used to be pretty close, but one day she just announced she was working with the Barrels, and next thing they knew she was with them since.

"Okay, it's the traitor? What about it?" Stephano whispered.

"Well we have someone who escaped at the table-"

"Mayo?"

Mr. Chair immediately reacted, wrapping a protective arm around his brother and glaring at Broom.

"Oh please, I'm not gonna wrestle for him. I haven't even gotten to eat yet and I don't want to get kicked out." Broom said with a slight annoyance in her tone.

"Why are you coming over here?" Jennifer asked.

"I just wanted to say hi to the kid. Congratulate him for getting out. He's a smart guy." Broom said, even doing a small slow clap. "Now that you're out here and you're seeing what the Bro Army is like for yourself, feel free to come back whenever you want. We'll welcome you with open arms."

"Why would I want to come back?" Mayo said, clinging to Green too.

"Geez kid, you make it sound like we mistreated you. You practically had a loving family back there, and these idiots are full of infighting." Broom looked over the table with her dark green eyes as she said this.

"Mayo has a loving family now. One that won't hold him captive. You may think you made the right decision betraying us, but Mayo here had a reason to find us." Stephano said, clearly about ready to fight her.

"Well it's fair to remember he was a little kid back then, he didn't know you all nearly enough. But I digress. You know perfectly why I made the decision I did. It was your question, you know." Broom was looking straight at Stephano, this was not aimed at anyone else.

"My question? What are you going on about?" Stephano was about to put his hand on the hilt of his blade, but Jennifer stopped him.

" _Imagine two scenarios. One is that you are the crown heir in a monarchy, and will become a beloved leader with many followers and admirers, but you will not have the riches that come with the title, nor a luxurious life._ Ring a bell?" Broom started telling some kind of situational question, and Stephano gritted his teeth. " _The other is that you have been gifted an amazing castle and with it plenty of riches, you are guaranteed a comfortable life, however you have no servants nor do you have a position of power. So if you had to choose between these two options, which would you pick? The Castle or The Crown?_ You created this when you were young, right? Gonzales told it to me, and the answer was obvious. Any sane man would choose the castle. The Barrels provided safety, all the Bro Army does is feed into the ego of glory seekers."

Everyone had gone silent, and their eyes were now on Stephano.

"I'll leave you with that. Enjoy your evening." Broom held a victorious smile as she walked away.

"All the Bro Army does is feed into the ego of glory seekers..." Mr. Chair repeated what she said to himself, and then Stephano cut in.

"Not true. Think about it, what does the Barrel Army actually protect you from? The only reason they're any safer from monsters is because of their big strong base, and we were building something like that before _they_ raided it. The only thing the Barrels protect you from is themselves, they rule their members through fear of what would happen if they left. As one half of who created this question, and let's take a moment to remember I was a child, allow me to explain the true purpose. No matter what you choose, at least one person needs to choose the crown. Someone who doesn't mind sacrificing to help those in need, and someone who could make sure that others may live comfortably like those in the castles. If no one holds the crown, chaos is guaranteed to reign. Although Broom used the analogy to describe the Bros and Barrels, she doesn't realize there's already someone on her side who wears the crown, even calling themselves a king. If the Bro Army wins the war we could obliterate the idea of sides all together, and just create a normal society where anyone can be offered safety and survival."

"Steph, that's a little idealist, don't you think?" Jennifer asked, though she was slightly amused at Stephano's optimism.

"Maybe, but it's better than living life in fear. And unlike that simple little riddle, we don't have to limit ourselves to those ifs. We could improve life in the castle, and be able to live in comfort afterwards. That's at least what I hope, and why I'd choose the crown any day in a place like this." Stephano said, and thankfully it seemed to ease the group who had probably all started wondering if they made the right decision.

"It definitely sounds nice. Let's work towards it." Piggeh said.

"As for Mayo..." Stephano started, realizing there was an elephant in the room they needed to address. "If you ever decide you'd rather go back to the Barrels, we will not stop you. You just need to be sure it's your final decision, because most everyone won't tolerate you jumping back and forth."

Mr. Chair was about to object, but he stopped himself, knowing that Stepano probably had a point in saying it.

"Okay, but I don't think I will. I want to choose the Crown too." Mayo said with a smile, and Stephano couldn't help but feel proud of him.

"Is everything alright?" Berta's voice broke the moment as she started placing food on the table.

"Yeah, we were just having a bonding moment." Piggeh chuckled then picked up his cider. "To the Bro Army?"

"Oh Piggeh, not here." Mr. Chair said.

"Come on, there's no rules against it. Besides, why not annoy Broom a little?"

Stephano laughed and shook his head before picking up his own drink, and everyone followed.

" **To the Bro Army!!!** "

* * *

_"Stephano, your drink was watered down how did you get this drunk???"_

_"Shuddap, I'm fineee."_

_"Ugh, we're not gonna be able to get home like this..."_

_"Bunny, is it alright if we rented some rooms? We'll be out of here tomorrow morning."_

_"Of course, do you mind sharing some rooms or would you prefer you all stayed separate?"_

_"We can share, I'll room with Piggeh and Mayo. Jennifer, do you mind sharing with Stephano?"_

_"No problem. Come on big guy, it's naptime."_

Stephano's eyes fluttered open, seeing the soft glow of a candle on the bedside table. His eyes adjusted to the darkness beyond, seeing Jennifer asleep in the other bed. He then started to hear something outside their room. Arguing? It sounded like a man and woman. He got out of bed before going to the door and quietly opening it. He saw he was in a hallway with rows of doors to other bedrooms in front of and beside him. He stepped out, cautiously shutting the door before he slowly walked down the hall to the stairway, from where he started to hear the argument clearly.

"You ungrateful bitch! The only reason I keep you around is because your pretty ass brings in more money!"

Carefully, he peered around the wall, seeing that downstairs there was none other than the lady from his dreams and a man who he couldn't make the full appearance of because he was facing away, but his hair was gray to the last tip and his white skin was shriveled like a raisin.

"That's right. Not to mention how much my children bust their asses to earn their keep. Or how convenient they are to take your anger out on." The lady said. "Maybe if you weren't such a bitter man, I would show you a little more respect."

"I don't think you're in any position to talk back to me Fleur. I can throw you all out any time I want! I can even choose who stays and goes. Maybe I'd keep Perrine, I'm sure she could take your place easily."

"DON'T YOU DARE-"

Stephano's foot slipped as he started leaning down more, and he quickly hid around the corner. It was unfortunately too late as he had already caught their attention. He watched as the lady- no, Fleur, came over to the stairway. As she saw him her expression softened.

"I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

Stephano simply shook his head. Fleur smiled and she climbed the stairs to join him at the top.

"Here, I'll take you back to your room. I'm sorry for upsetting you." She took his hand before leading him back to his room. Stephano noticed however that she was looking over her shoulder again, glaring at the man she was arguing with.

As they reached his room, she let go of his hand and held the door open, but as Stephano stepped inside, Fleur started having a coughing fit.

"Madame! Are you okay?" Stephano turned and placed the back of his hand on the woman's forehead. Then his eyes widened as he noticed she was coughing up something.

Several dark pink petals that fluttered to the floor.

Then he woke up.


	6. Senses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Light descriptions of gore, an attempted detailed panic attack, and a lot of sexual jokes.

Mr. Chair looked down at the directions written on the note. He was told the Bro Army's community base would be up ahead. He finally saw some doors and made his way to them, entering excitedly.

"Hello! I'm-"

"STAY IN THERE!!!"

Mr. Chair saw a completely gold man dressed in golden arabic attire shoving someone he didn't get a good look at into a room and locking it.

"Aww come on! Let me out! I just wanna make love to you~"

"What's going on?" Mr. Chair asked, alerting the golden man to his presence. Clearly embarrassed, he cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"Allos, my name is Stephano. I am a close friend of PewDiePie. I was merely dealing with an associate of mine who clearly has no control over his libido." Stephano said with a thick French accent, glaring at his associate through the door to the room he had locked him in.

"That's me!" A smooth and energetic voice said, quite obviously belonging to the person in the other room.

"I-I see, well it's nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Chair, a new recruit to the Bro Army." The nineteen year old chair said, going over to Stephano and holding his hand out, which the statue shook.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Is there anything I could help you with?"

"Could I meet who's in there?" Mr. Chair said pointing to the door.

"Are you sure? He's a pervert who can't take a hint." Stephano said.

"Yes please. I think I can handle him."

"Very well." Stephano said and gave Mr. Chair the key. "But do not blame me if you lose your virginity. Anyway I have business to attend to, so if you'll excuse me..."

Stephano left, leaving a baffled and slightly terrified chair behind. He gulped and unlocked the door, opening it with hesitance. Before him was a man with pink messy hair, eyes which had snake-like pupils that he could barely see amongst the dark brown, pale skin white as snow, multiple open scars, and clothing him was a pink tattered shirt, brown jeans that left almost nothing to the imagination, and a pair of brown work boots, as well as bandages on his arms. In his pink hair were two pale pink pig ears, and Mr. Chair could presume he had a tail as well.

"Hello, I don't think we've met, I'm-"

"Piggeh?"

"How did you..."

The lust in Piggeh's eyes faded as they were replaced with sadness.

"Green?"

* * *

"Stephano!"

Stephano jumped as he felt Jennifer shake him awake, looking up at her startled before sighing.

"Why is it whenever I'm about to get answers... Someone wakes me up."

"Well gee, I just wanted to wake you up from your nightmare, but if you're going to be like that, I'll let you get back to it." Jennifer got up and walked away.

"No, I'm sorry. My dreams have just been confusing lately." Stephano said, laying back down. "I keep seeing that lady..."

"The one with the Stephanotis flowers?"

"Mhm. Speaking of which, if my dream is correct her name is Fleur..." Stephano explained.

"So you know her name now?" Jennifer asked.

"Yes... I also heard she has, or had, children... But she looked so young to be a mother... Assuming she's even real-" Stephano said.

"You know, you didn't really give us a detailed description of her appearance. What does she look like?" Jennifer looked curiously to Stephano, who laid back as he tried to recall.

"She was very pale and thin, like she could break if I held her too tightly..."

"Go on..."

"She had long light brown hair that was incredibly tangled, and she had the Stephanotis flowers woven into it. Her eyes were like yours. Gray that were nearly silver." Stephano recalled, thinking more and more about Fleur.

"Huh... Anything else?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm remembering I saw bruises on her skin. There were dark ones around her neck, and some lighter ones on her wrists. She also had bags under her eyes." Stephano explained then paused. "That's the weird thing about her... She looks beautiful, but the longer I look at her, the more things I notice that are wrong..."

"Sounds rough... What does she usually wear?"

"I already mentioned the flowers... She wears a short white dress with no sleeves, it's mostly lace around the top of her chest, but the rest is I think chiffon? I'm not good with fabrics... She had a gray corset around her waist with some ribbons... Her tights were black and had darker vertical lines on them... And she had black high heels. That's as much as I can recall."

Stephano looked over as he finished, noticing Jennifer had an odd look on her face.

"Stephano?"

"Yes?”

"Are you seeing a prostitute in your dreams?"

"I beg your pardon-"

Then before they could finish talking, the door opened revealing Piggeh.

"Oh good, you’re already awake. Come on, we gotta get going." Piggeh said with his ever chipper voice.

"Already?" Stephano asked, getting out of bed. He inspected himself, noticing he still had on mostly everything except for his brooch. He saw it on the bedside table and picked it up, readjusting his hood before refastening it.

"Yeah, it'll be easier to sneak by any Barrels before anyone wakes up." Piggeh said. "Well almost anyone-"

Curious as to what he means Stephano and Jennifer left the room. Stephano realized immediately that he was a little hungover, meaning this was going to suck. What he saw next though alleviated his headache somewhat.

"Oh Piggeh, won't you give me a goodbye kiss before you go~?" Berta said, already leaning down to the pumped pig before he stepped to the side.

"No thanks. But could you tell Bunny and the others I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye?" Piggeh asked.

"Come on, not even a cheek kiss?" Berta pleaded.

"Bye Berta." Piggeh said bluntly, heading for the door and motioning for the group to follow. Stephano chuckled and followed as motioned.

He looked to see Mayo quite out of it and practically being pulled by his brother. His hair wasn't even in his favored ponytail, just left hanging loosely around his drooping face. 

"How much sleep did he get?" Stephano asked.

"Only a few hours. I think it's 4 AM now?" Mr. Chair answered, doing his best to make sure Mayo didn't fall over on him.

"Poor thing must not be used to waking up early." Stephano said slightly amused.

Then as they got far away enough from the Filthy Pig Piggeh suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Alright, so there's been a slight change in plans." Piggeh announced.

"What do you mean?" Stephano asked, already knowing he was about to dread whatever it was.

"Well this is a pretty big group of people to hide, and we have things like monsters to worry about too. Mr. Chair and I talked about it last night, and we decided our best course of action would be to split up." 

"Split up?" Jennifer asked.

"Mhm. Jen, Mayo's really out of it, so can you go with Mr. Chair and carry him? You two are going pretty much the way we came." Piggeh said.

"Oh, sure." Jen said and picked up the table, hauling him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Mayo made no attempt to object.

"Wait..." Stephano started, realizing where this left him.

"As for Stephano and I, we'll go find an alternative route and meet up with you back at the base."

And the headache was back!

"Hold on, hold on. Why do I have to go with you?" Stephano asked.

"Because you're the best suited. Plus, consider it your punishment for getting drunk and making us stay the night." Mr. Chair said, making Stephano's face become a golden orange from embarrassment.

"Before we go, I'm gonna need something to track you guys in case we get lost." Piggeh said, and Mr. Chair decided to remove his blazer, handing it to Piggeh who stuffed it in his bag. "Alright, thank you! We'll see you later."

Piggeh grabbed Stephano's arm, pulling the statue away from the others.

"You know... You're the one who encouraged me to drink." Stephano said glaring at the pig.

"And you _let_ me convince you?" Piggeh laughed.

"All I'm saying is to keep your antics to a minimum. I have a massive hangover and you can make my headache worse." Stephano said pulling his arm away from Piggeh's arm and rubbing his forehead.

"Okay, but so do I Steph."

"Wait you have a hangover? But you barely even got drunk." Stephano asked.

"You can get hungover without getting drunk." Piggeh explained.

"That just sounds awful, what's even the point of drinking as much as you do?"

"Not sure. Habit? Why don't we change the subject from alcohol?" Piggeh said as he walked away from Stephano and started pushing some crates together.

"So what's even the plan for getting back?" Stephano asked, watching Piggeh climb up on the crates before grabbing the bottom of a ladder and pulling it down.

"We're gonna go up a few floors and do a supply search, and then take an alternate route back to our base." Piggeh kneeled down on the side of the crate and held a hand out to Stephano to help him climb on, to which Stephano complied.

"Not a bad idea, but this sounds incredibly tiring." Stephano couldn't help but complain one more time before he began climbing the ladder. He was about to say that, of course, he knew it was his own fault, before Piggeh said something that made the headache throb even more.

"Thanks for giving me a nice view of your ass Steph!"

This was going to be a long morning.

* * *

He was right. Several floors, plenty of rooms, and a bit of supply grabbing, and all throughout it, Piggeh had a pick up line or innuendo for nearly everything. His headache was just getting worse.

And now, a Bro had entered the area and Stephano had let the pig pull him into a wardrobe. It was an innocent move. At first.

"It's really tight in here, you might want to be careful how you position yourself. Though, I wouldn't be complaining~" 

"Piggeh, for the millionth time, please. Shut up." Stephano muttered as he attempted to peer through the cracks, watching as the servant grunt walked into the room.

"Fine fine." Piggeh whispered. Though it only took a few seconds for him to whisper again. "Hey while we're sitting here alone, can I talk about something that was on my mind?"

"Ugh, sure." Stephano sighed and stopped looking at the monster, probably for the best.

"Now that we know about Janus, it actually explains a lot about the vibes I got from you." Piggeh chuckled a bit, and Stephano raised an eyebrow in response.

"Explain please."

"You know the thing about how some animals can sense if someone is a bad person?" Piggeh asked, and Stephano nodded. "I kinda had something similar when we met."

"You thought I was-"

"Not necessarily. I just felt something was off about you. It wasn't necessarily I felt you were secretly evil or something, and hey, I didn't act like it."

"Oh definitely..." Stephano recalled annoyed at the memory of Piggeh kissing him as a joke.

"I've mainly ignored it, but now I know I was actually sensing Janus. Though I guess that means the evil thing was actually correct." Piggeh chuckled a bit, and Stephano nearly joined him.

"Yes, it would be." Stephano said somewhat amused. He briefly looked through the cracks again to make sure the Bro hadn't heard their conversation, but thankfully the grunt was still unaware of their presence.

"Janus also kind of explains why you're so distant."

"I'm sorry, what?" Stephano asked, taken aback a little. 

"I mean you didn't want us to find out about him, so you kept your distance from us as much as possible. Right?" Piggeh said, cocking his head a little.

"It's not that simple Piggeh."

"What else would there be? You’ve stayed with us this long, you even told Broom we were family, so it's not like you just hate us."

"Who else would I even go to?" Stephano muttered, but when he looked at Piggeh, he noticed he actually seemed a bit hurt by that. "Sorry, you're right that I don't hate you, but it's really not that simple."

Piggeh stood silent for a few seconds, but then he suddenly grinned.

"You just admitted you don't hate me~!"

"T-That's not the same as saying I like you!"

Then they heard a growl, from the doorway too. Meaning it was almost leaving.

"Great. Stay here and shut the door, I'll lead him away." 

"What?"

Before Piggeh could stop him, Stephano jumped out of the wardrobe, catching the attention of the grunt. When it wasn't looking, Piggeh grabbed the door to the closet and pulled it shut. 

Stephano unsheathed his sword and ran into the corner, and as the Bro started running towards him, he darted around it's side, quickly slicing as he ran for the room's door. 

"Piggeh, stay there. I'll be right back!!" Stephano yelled as he ran out of the room, stopping for a second until the monster came out too before running again.

Once he was away from the room, the Bro still on his ass, he started to speak.

"Janus, I'm going to need you for a minute. I want to make this quick!"

_'Very well.'_

* * *

"Look's like the sun is starting to rise." Jennifer said as she looked to the windows.

"Yeah." Mr. Chair said then yawned. "You think I can get away with taking a nap when we get back even now?"

"Oh, I'm sure we all will. Mayo might be the first one back up though." Jennifer said gesturing to the sleeping teen hauled over her shoulder. 

"Probably." Mr. Chair chuckled a bit then patted his brother's head softly. He then looked to the window again. "Oh hey, there's crows outside."

"Crow?!" Mayo suddenly jolted awake, yelling that in fear. He almost tried to wrestle free from Jenny's grasp before he managed to come back to reality.

"Good morning Mayo?"

"Everything okay?" Jen asked chuckling, to which Mayo sighed.

"Sorry-"

"What was that about?" Mr. Chair asked as Jennifer gently set the boy down.

"Sorry, Sammy told me a story about this Black Crow lady and it hasn't gotten out of my head since." Mayo said rubbing his eyes.

"Do you want to sleep a bit more?" Jen asked.

"No, I'm okay." Mayo said while stretching.

"Alright, well don't worry Mayo, that's just some urban legend. Besides, we wouldn't let her touch you." Mr. Chair chuckled.

"Oh really Green? You believe you would stand a chance against me?" A woman's voice was suddenly heard around the corner.

Mayo shrieked and clutched onto Jennifer. Mr. Chair however only sighed.

"He looks like an interesting specimen. I would love to use him in an experiment."

"Hey, quit using Pipé's voice! You're scaring him!" Mr. Chair yelled.

They then heard a deep laugh as a man with white hair in black clothing and a cloak stepped into sight.

"That was the plan~" The man replied playfully as he looked to them, revealing pale red eyes and a face where half of his skin and flesh were gone, exposing his skull. He was using his own voice, which was low toned and featured a French accent much like Stephano's.

"Hello Skully." Mr. Chair greeted the man, somewhat amused.

"Bonjour Mon Chair."

* * *

Piggeh waited in the closet, listening in the silence for any sign of Stephano or the monster, but heard nothing.

"Stephano?" Piggeh asked and slowly opened the wardrobe. When he saw nothing he carefully stepped out. He attempted to listen again, but heard nothing.

"Where is he?" Piggeh mumbled as he left the room. "Did he just ditch me?"

Piggeh took a few seconds to think as he walked down the corridor before laughing.

"Probably, knowing him." Piggeh chuckled, about to make another remark to himself, but stopped when he smelled something.

Blood.

Piggeh quickly began running in the direction it was coming from. The smell getting stronger, and as it did he started to hear the sound of ragged breathing.

"Steph?!" Piggeh ran around a corner, and as he did he completely lost his breath. Laying on the ground was a completely eviscerated Bro, and next to it was Stephano, laying limp on the ground. He was covered by multiple scars in a pool of his own blood. He wasn't dead, he was still breathing heavily and gasping in pain.

"Stephano!!! Oh my god!" Piggeh quickly ran to the statue, kneeling at his side as he began to hyperventilate. "Oh god, what can I do??" 

Piggeh grabbed Stephano's side and rolled him on his back, gasping when he saw Stephano's normally dull golden eyes a bright glowing red.

"I-I'm okay, I just need..." Stephano gasped again and Piggeh watched as one of his wounds closed. Piggeh's heart dropped, wondering if there were even more before he got there.

Soon Stephano's wounds all disappeared and his eyes turned back to normal. He looked completely normal again, but his clothes that were torn and bloodstained left the evidence of what just happened.

"Y-You..."

"Sorry, I just wanted to get it over with so I-" Stephano said sitting up, only for Piggeh to harshly push him, making him nearly fall back. 

**"You scared the shit out of me!!!"** Piggeh yelled, his voice cracking and tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. But I told you to wait-"

 **"How was I supposed to know you were coming back at all?! For all I knew you ditched me! And then I find you and you look like you're about to die!!"** Piggeh shouted, his whole body trembling and sweat forming on his skin.

"I wouldn't, calm down-" Stephano started to say, wiping the blood on his hands off on his clothes.

**"W-What if you didn't have Janus?! What if I c-couldn't smell y-your blood from that distance?! I-I might h-have left you to d-die!"**

It was hard to really admit it, but when Piggeh got angry like this, he was actually kind of terrifying. His laidback personality usually countered his more frightening features such as his abundance of scars and his snake-like pupils, but when he was actually mad, they would become more noticeable than before. Yet, Stephano noticed something else was wrong as he watched the pig.

"Piggeh, can I touch you?"

"What?!" Piggeh asked, shocked that he was asking that now.

"Not like that. Can I touch your shoulder or hand?" Stephano asked.

"I guess??"

Stephano then helped Piggeh up carefully before placing a hand on his shoulder. As he laid his hand on his companion he could feel how bad he was trembling. He could also tell from the way Piggeh started to move, he might have been dizzy. He started to lead the pig away from the bloody scene and into another bedroom.

Stephano admittedly found it odd that there were a ton of bedrooms for a castle where only a few people if not only Alexander ever lived, though he was glad for it, especially now. As they entered the room Stephano shut the door and looked around, spotting another wardrobe.

"Perfect." Stephano walked over to it. "Sit on the bed".

Stephano stepped inside, closing the door so Piggeh couldn't see him. To say the pig was confused would be an understatement, but he listened and sat on it.

"Piggeh, I need you to list five things you can see."

"Why?!"

"Piggeh, list five things you can see."

Piggeh took another breath and looked around.

"I see the closet you just went into... I see a window... The comforter... A vase... A candle..."

"Now four things you can feel."

"Umm... My clothes... Cold air... The bed... Does a dry mouth count?"

"Sure." Stephano said. "Three things you can hear."

"You... Birds... Creaking..."

"Two things you can smell."

"Blood... Something musty..."

"What's one thing you can taste..."

"A bit of vomit? I almost did..."

"Okay, take a deep breath in for four seconds then exhale for another four."

Piggeh complied, breathing in deep for a good four seconds before releasing a calm sigh. Stephano then quietly stepped out of the wardrobe.

"Are you okay now?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"I apologize for not being more straightforward. I also apologize for hiding, I didn't want the sight of me to unsettle you even more." Stephano said before walking over to the pig, sitting beside him.

"It's okay... I'm sorry for overreacting-"

"You didn't, I should have thought that through better. Though I am pretty surprised that seeing me like that made you so emotional."

"I'm annoying, not an asshole!" Piggeh said, laughing slightly. "But... Where did you learn that thing you just did? To calm me down?"

"Oh... Do you remember a few years ago when I had my ponytail out of my hat, and you tried to play with it?" Stephano asked.

"How could I forget? You turned around and punched me square in the face. It hurt for nearly a week." Piggeh laughed, rubbing his face a bit at the memory of the pain.

"Well when I was a child there was a similar incident. I wasn't wearing my keffiyeh and Gonzales decided to tug at my hair."

"Did you punch him too?" Piggeh asked.

"No... I screamed. I fell to the floor and started to sob uncontrollably. Gonzales and Pipé as you might imagine had no idea what to do. I don't even know why I reacted that way. But then, Janus started telling me the same things I just told you..."

_'Name five things you can see.'_

_"Gonzales... Pipé... The ground... My hair... My clothes..."_

_'Name four things you can feel."_

_'Clothes... Shaking... Wood... Tears...'_

_'Name three things you can hear.'_

_"Mice... My family... You..."_

_'Name two things you smell.'_

_"Dust... Perfume..."_

_'One thing you can taste.'_

_"The bread Pipé gave me..."_

"Somehow it worked. Ever since he always did it when I was on the verge of a panic attack, and I learned how to do it myself." Stephano continued his explanation.

"I'm surprised he knows something like that..." Piggeh said.

"Janus works in mysterious ways..." Stephano joked before getting up. "Alright, if you're okay now, let's keep moving. I'm ready to go home."

"Okay." Piggeh said getting up and following Stephano out of the room.

"By the way, when we get back, can we keep this to ourselves?" Stephano asked.

"I guess? I mean your clothes will kind of give it away-"

"No, not that part, I already know I'm not getting out of that one." Stephano said, glancing down at them in hopes that it wasn't past repair. "I meant what just happened..."

"Why?"

"I don't really want to talk about it. Just do me a favor and keep your mouth shut about it."

"Fine, it'll be our little secret~"

* * *

The men reached a frail wooden staircase leading down to the floor they lived on.

"Statues first?" Piggeh said, making an exaggerated gesture down towards them, to which Stephano rolled his eyes.

"Fine." Stephano said then started walking down, keeping his hand on the wall as he did.

"W-Wait, Steph-"

"What?" As Stephano asked he felt a crack under his foot. He halted his movement and looked down to see one of the planks under his foot had started to cave in beneath his shoe. He carefully moved it out of the growing fissure and to the side, relieved when nothing happened. "It's okay! Just watch out for this."

Piggeh nodded and Stephano continued moving. But then, Stephano felt another crack, and this time he had no time to even look down before the structure collapsed beneath him, sending him plummetting to the ground.

**"STEPHANO!!!"**

Stephano closed his eyes and quickly braced himself.

Then everything went black.


	7. Rendezvous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Mentions of drug use, body dysmorphia, possibilities of gaslighting, and a huge argument

"We'll meet again."

Following Pewdie through the door, Stephano looked around, seeing no sign of the swede anywhere.

"He must have spawned elsewhere..." Stephano muttered to himself. It had taken him awhile to figure out Pewds could go elsewhere in the castle when he went through one of the bigger metal doors. "Guess I should find him..."

Stephano rubbed his forehead as he turned to go search for Pewdie. He tended to be pretty loud, so it would probably not take long to figure out where he is.

"So... You are my replacement?"

Stephano gasped as he looked around for the person who spoke. What shocked him was not what was said, but that it was in his own voice.

"Janus, did you say that?" Stephano whispered, making sure no one else could hear.

_'No, it's not me this time.'_

"Tell me, what is it that attracts Pewdie to you more? For all intents and purposes, we have the same capabilities to him. In fact, I'm much wiser."

"Show yourself!" Stephano yelled, drawing his sword and taking a fighting stance. A deep laugh resonated from elsewhere in the newly opened hallway.

Stephano watched as a door opened and a thin man wearing a black hoodie and jeans stepped out. He had short white hair, and as he turned to the golden statue he revealed that half of his face was missing, revealing his skull, and his one eye was a very pale red.

"You are Stephano, non? It's nice to finally meet you, my name is Skully." The man said, now in a different voice but still keeping a French accent.

"Skully?" Stephano asked, relaxing his stance but keeping his sword drawn.

"Right. Don't worry about what I said before. I was just having a little fun." Skully chuckled.

"So you are not mad at me about that?" Stephano asked.

"Oh, I am very mad." Skully scoffed and leaned against the wall. "But it's not like you did it on purpose. That man is simply an enigma I cannot hope to understand. As for you, I am willing to be on good terms. Perhaps we can even be of help to one another."

"That... That's good to hear." Stephano sighed and sheathed his blade.

"Stephano, have you heard of the community base?" Skully asked.

"Erm, no. I have not." Stephano said and walked closer to the skull.

"Interesting, you are Pewdie's favorite yet you do not know of it." Skully mused. "Well a few Bro Army members have begun work on a community base. Somewhere for us to sleep, find food, and commune when needed. Perhaps you should offer your help?"

"Of course, I'd be happy to." Stephano answered, deciding to brush off the man's passive aggressive behavior as he figured it would cease in due time.

"Thank you. Allow me to show you where it is being set up mon ami." Skully said and began walking, Stephano following close behind.

* * *

"Hey ugly!!" 

The grunt growled as it looked to the woman with bushy blonde hair.

"Catch me if you can!" She yelled as she started running, the monster following after.

"Is it gone?" Broom whispered.

"Yes, coast is clear for now." Red said as he walked into the hall with Gonzales and Broom.

"Thank god..."

"We only have a few minutes before Sammy has to lead it back. Pick a room, grab what you can, and be prepared to hide." Red ordered as he walked into a room, leaving the door open a crack as he walked in.

"Yes sir!" Both Broom and Gonzales said before going into different ones.

Gonzales noticed a desk near the back of the room and began searching through it's drawers, picking up a few notes, a key, some laudanum, and a sanity potion. As he went to look at the bookshelf he heard the door open.

"My room doesn't have any good hiding places and I already grabbed a lot. Can I stay in here?" Broom asked peeking in.

"Of course, if you help me look around." Gonzales said, and Broom complied, stepping into the room and began to search.

"By the way, I was at the Filthy Pig last night, and I saw Mayo there."

"Alone or with his group?" Gonzales asked a little concerned.

"With his group. He seemed like he was doing alright..."

"I see."

"I guess I just wanted to let you know." Broom said a little sheepishly.

"Thank you, it's good to hear that he's okay." Gonzales said, looking back at Broom with a small smile.

They then heard running and the faint sounds of a Bro's groans.

"She's coming back." Gonzales said in a hushed tone, and the two immediately hid. Gonzales slid under the bed and Broom had crawled into the desk's cupboard.

They waited a few minutes, hearing the Bro walk by their room a few times, before it eventually faded. Then they heard the door open.

"Coast is clear." Sammy said, and watched as Broom and Gonzales left their hiding places.

"About time..." Broom sighed.

"Oh come on you had the easy part. You're so small you didn't even need to hide. You just needed to crouch." Sammy quipped, immediately causing Broom's face to go red in anger.

"I'm not that small!"

"Take it as a compliment shortie! I had to run around with a monster on my ass!" Sammy chuckled as she left, Broom marching after her yelling a few more defenses.

As Gonzales followed them, he met the gaze of Red, who rolled his eyes at the ladies' antics before walking over to the statue.

"I overheard you and Broom talking about Mayo." Red said to his companion.

"Oh, sorry. Were we being too loud?" Gonzales asked.

"No, it was just hard to hear much else." Red said, to Gonzales's relief. Then after a few seconds he began talking again. "So, when will you start telling people you let Mayo escape? The Scouts are already starting to figure out someone had to see him."

"I'll get to it. I just don’t want to tell the wrong person and get kicked out." Gonzales said. "Besides, I told you and Sammy, so I'm hoping that’s enough to..."

"I am the general, and if this comes out I will do my damnedest to defend you, but there's only so much I could do. If Iron Maiden or the Barrel King himself say you have to face punishment, I won’t be able to stop it." Red sighed.

"And what if they do make me leave? Would you come with me?" 

"I-"

"Red! Zally! Hurry up! Tiny legs is keeping up with me faster than you two!" Sammy called to them, Broom nearly screeching behind her.

"Right, let’s get a move on." Red said, walking over to them, Gonzales following.

* * *

Stephano opened his eyes before shielding them again at the sight of bright light. He felt something velvety surrounding him, threatening to pull him deeper into a pit of the soft material. 

He managed to sit up and looked to find himself sitting in a near lake of the stephanotis flowers that swayed through the breeze. If there was any ground, the white flowers covered it completely. 

"I'm here again..." Stephano muttered, looking around the blinding white surroundings, when he noticed something different from it all.

Fleur, admiring one of the flowers in her hand before her eyes locked with Stephano.

"Stephano, it's good to see you." She said warmly, letting the blossom in her palm fly off as she placed her hand in her lap. "Would you like to stay awhile?"

"Yeah, that would be nice..." Stephano said, feeling slightly more at ease with Fleur around. He moved closer to the white clad lady, watching the flowers in the breeze with her.

"You know... What is with you and stephanotis?" Stephano asked, earning a small laugh.

"Wouldn’t the better question be what is with you and stephanotis?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. You're the one wearing the flowers in your hair." Stephano laughed a bit. "I never even knew of the flowers before I met you."

"That may be so, but aren't I your creation?"

"I honestly don't know. Sometimes I'm not so sure you aren't just Janus in disguise."

"Then what do you think I am?" Fleur rested her head on her knees as she asked the question.

"I... I don't think you're him... That's all I know." Stephano said.

"I will tell you this... I'm not something that only just now came to being. I've been here as long as Janus. I was supposed to be there for you as you grew..."

"Then Janus got in the way of that, didn't he?" Stephano asked, to which his companion nodded. He didn't want to show it, but his stomach churned at the thought that from the very first time he woke up, Janus was hiding Fleur from him. "Damn it all..."

Not wanting to lay in the flowers again for fear of drowning in them, he instead chose to lean against Fleur, who reciprocated by wrapping an arm around him.

"Since I've never been able to meet them, what do you think of your group?"

"Them..." Stephano said as begun to think. "Who do you want to know about?"

"Let's start with Jennifer."

"I... I admire Jennifer. She's a lot stronger and kinder than I'd ever be. I feel really bad for her, I think that imbecile Pewds made her think she can't find love. She doesn't deserve that. She certainly doesn't deserve to have to play mother to a bunch of grown men..."

"If you think Pewdie hurt her so bad, why do you still care for him?"

"I'm not sure..." Stephano said. Wanting to change the subject, he moved onto the next person. "I've always had a complicated relationship with Mr. Chair. Whenever he and I work together we make a pretty good team, and it's not like we're not civil. That said, we have a lot of grudges we've yet to let go of. I wish we got along better, but I don't know where to start."

"It sounds like something you should talk to him about."

"I just don't know when's a good time." Stephano replied.

"How about Piggeh?"

"Piggeh... He annoys the hell out of me. Yet... He's one of the few people who never hated me. He doesn't see me as better or worse than him. He's always just trying to have fun with me... For better or worse-" Stephano paused for a moment. "I'm always envious of how he manages to stay so optimistic. To be honest... I think I trust him more than anyone in my group."

"I see... What about Mayo?"

"There is a world of potential in that kid. I've seen more bravery and determination in him than I've seen in people double his age. I think with someone like him growing up here, Brennenburg's future is bright. I worry though about what kind of influence we will have on him. I even wonder if he might have been in better hands with Gonzales and his lovers."

Fleur then pulled away, placing a hand on Stephano's cheek to turn his face to hers. Then she placed a hand on the top of his head, caressing him slightly.

"From what you told me and from what I know of you, I think he's with the right people." Fleur said, smiling affectionately.

"Even if that's true, we really need to get our shit together." Stephano said, placing his hand over the one on his cheek. "If not for ourselves, then certainly for him..."

Then Stephano noticed something. A brief glint of light beneath the stephanotis flowers.

"What is that?" Stephano asked, pulling away and shuffling through the flowers to it.

"I'm not sure, but be careful." Fleur said.

Stephano pushed aside flowers, frustrated at not seeing the item, nor a seeming bottom to the piles of blossoms. He shoved his hand further down, in hopes of just being able to grab whatever it is.

Then he felt a sudden sharp pain in his palm, like several shards of glass had pierced into his flesh.

And with that he felt like something inside of him shattered too.

* * *

Stephano opened his eyes. He panted as he looked around the room, seeing he was in an unfamiliar bedroom.

Before he could really process it though, he saw someone leaving the room, catching a glimpse of a flowing white skirt.

_'Fleur??'_

"Attendre, mademoiselle!" Stephano bolted out of bed and the room, hurriedly grabbing the wrist of the woman.

"Stephano?!"

Finally Stephano's eyes adjusted, recognizing the voice and sight of his cousin. She was wearing an off shoulder gray shirt with a brown leather corset that was not fully tied shut. Beneath that she wore a white ruffled skirt, brown tights, and a pair of low heeled gray boots with laces matching the corset. She had short gray hair which covered one of her matching gray eyes.

"Pipé, I'm so sorry." Stephano said letting go of her and stepping back, rubbing his head a little. "I had a weird dream, and for a moment I thought you were someone else."

That's when he remembered the last seconds of his dream and looked at his hand. It looked the same as usual, certainly like no glass had pierced him.

_'What was that about anyway?'_

"It's alright. How are you feeling?" Pipé asked, chuckling a bit.

"Fine... What happened? I don't remember how I got here."

"You were with Piggeh, and fell through some stairs-"

"I remember that part." Stephano affirmed.

"Piggeh managed to climb down to where you were, and when he got there he found you had reverted into object form." Pipé said, noticeably a little mad. "He tracked Mr. Chair's scent and brought you to our base. I took you to my room so you can rest."

"Oh..." Stephano said, wincing a bit already.

"That was a very idiotic move! Gold is very brittle! What if you had shattered or something?!" Pipé scolded him.

"I'm sorry, I must have panicked." Stephano said. "If I was in object form, how long was I out?"

"A good few hours. Once you got back to human form you didn't even wake up when I was replacing your clothes."

That's when Stephano realized his clothes felt a bit tighter, and that nothing was covering his hair. He looked down, seeing he was wearing a black hoodie and jeans.

"Oh great, am I wearing Skully's old clothes?" Stephano asked, sighing as he pulled the hood up and tucked his ponytail in.

"Yes. Your clothes were incredibly torn up and bloody. Wish to explain that?" Pipé crossed her arms, giving Stephano not the impression of an older cousin, but a stern mother.

"I had to fight off a Bro..." Stephano said, then after a pause explained further. "I had to have Janus' help."

"Stephano..." Pipé muttered with the fury of said stern mother.

"Anyway, where is my group? Did they go home?" Stephano asked.

"Nope. They were so tired they've actually been taking a nap here." Pipé said and turned away. "Come on, I'll show you."

Stephano followed as Pipé led him to Skully's room and quietly opened the door. Stephano looked inside seeing his sleeping friends. Jennifer was taking the bed, Mr. Chair was laying on a sofa, and Piggeh was curled up in a chair. Seeing everyone sleeping in one room brought back memories of their first base, when they were still unsure if they would stick together long term.

 _'Five years living together must count for something, right?'_ He thought to himself, remembering his conversation with Fleur in his dream.

Then that's when he noticed something.

"Where is Mayo?"

"Oh, that's really cute. He's been awake for awhile and is with Skully. Come on, you have to see it." Pipé whispered before she shut the door and started leading him to their common room. As they got closer Stephano started to hear the conversation.

"What about Piggeh?" He heard Mayo ask excitedly.

"Oh certainly." Skully replied before clearing his throat and using Piggeh's voice. "I'm pumped!"

"Can you do Stephano?" Mayo asked giggling as Pipé opened the door.

"That is child's play. We have the same accent so all it takes is a small pitch change." Skully said, before switching his voice to one reminiscent of Stephano's. "Allos, my name is Stephano and I have an ego the size of Notre Dame."

Mayo laughed, then asked. "What's Notre Dame?"

"It's a church in Paris." Stephano interjected, causing Skully to jump a bit.

"Good morning Steph!" Mayo said, sitting in a chair near Skully's desk, where he seemed to be working with a chemistry set.

"Yes, good morning." Skully said turning back to his work.

"I like your impression of me. Toi aussi, Skully. Toi aussi." Stephano said sneering a bit.

"Connard." Skully muttered under his breath, confusing the young boy sitting nearby.

"Anyway, thank you for letting me borrow your old clothes Skully. May I have mine back?" Stephano asked, getting tired of the hoodie and tight pants already.

"About that." Pipé interjected as she picked up Stephano's golden clothes from a small crate and tossed Stephano his ruby brooch. "I washed out as much blood as possible, but I can't really repair it effectively. I'll have to run to the market and get it fixed. I'd prefer if you guys just stayed here until I got back to make things easier."

"That's fine for me. Is that okay for you Skully?" Stephano asked.

"Yes it's fine." Skully said, mixing two vials together.

"Oh and Stephano, Lucian, I know you two were just fighting, but please behave while I am away." Pipé said as she left.

"Who's Lucian?" Mayo asked.

"That would be my first name." Skully explained. "Most people just call me Skully"

"Oh! Cool! Can I call you Luci for short?" Mayo asked innocently, earning a small laugh from Stephano.

"No thank you. Just call me Skully." He said calmly, reaching over and patting the kid's head.

"Okay." Mayo said cheerfully.

_'I hope this will be done soon... Skully's clothes aren't exactly my size.'_

* * *

"Madame Bertha?"

Pipé watched as the woman behind the stand looked up from the fabric she was knitting, standing up and looking to her with large green eyes. She had grayed-brown hair pulled back into a hair bun where she promptly stored her knitting needles.

"Oh, good to see you Pipé. What can I help you with?" Bertha asked, flattening down the wrinkles of her green plaid shawl.

"My cousin got into a pretty bad fight and he needs his clothes repaired." Pipé said as she handed the torn golden clothes over.

"Does that count the cape?" Bertha asked examining all of it.

"Just enough to keep it from unraveling I think on that one." Pipé said.

"Alright, I should be done within 10-20 minutes."

"Okay, I have some other things to attend to, so I won't be far." Pipé said before she worked out the trading agreement with Bertha. "Merci beaucoup, madame."

"You're very welcome. I'll call you over when I'm done."

Pipé gave her a small curtsy before she walked away. She looked around before setting her eyes on Sven, working hard at sawing up some wood.

"Bonjour Sven!" Pipé said walking over to his station.

"Ah, hej Pipé!" The old man called out, giving her a jolly smile. Sven was a very large and tubby old man, with long curly white hair pulled back into a ponytail with a golden bandana, and a beard that matched the density of his hair. He wore a loose red shirt with a pair of white trousers, some golden yellow boots, and above it all a white apron with turquoise patterns painted on. He had a pair of golden eyes that shined in the candle light.

"Good to see you. Is Jesus here today? I have something he wants." Pipé asked, laughing slightly at her own phrasing.

"Oh definitely. Can't you smell the burnt roses?" Sven quipped before turning to a pile of boxes in the corner where Jesus had been sleeping near. "Jesus! Vakna!"

"Jag är vaken!" Jesus yelled, quickly sitting up.

"He knows Swedish now?" Pipé laughed. Once Jesus noticed her he sighed and stood up.

"Spend enough time with Sven, you learn plenty." Jesus said rubbing the back of his head. He had long dark brown hair with a red bandana tied around his head, and wore a baggy white shirt with red hemlines, a pair of red leggings, and a brown leather vest and boots. He also had white bandages tied around his palms. He had vivid blue eyes that seemed to be accentuated by the dark circles beneath them.

"So you listen to me enough to learn my mother language but not enough to remember I forbid you from smoking in the marketplace?" Sven responded.

"I was on break! Besides, you didn't say anything when I was doing it." Jesus muttered the last part.

"Well now that you're up, could you hand me Susanna?" Sven asked, and Jesus immediately picked up a chisel before handing it to his elder.

"Susanna? Where did you get a name like that?" Pipé asked.

"Not sure! But I always found it a very nice name!" Sven answered with a grin as he began to carve the wood.

"Anyway, I brought the makeup you asked for." Pipé said, handing a few tins to Jesus.

"Finally! I was running out of stuff for my beard." Jesus said as he opened them and began to re-apply a fake beard.

"So I heard Jennifer came by yesterday. Was she still avoiding you?"

"Like the plague!" Sven interrupted, causing his assistant to glare at him.

"I don't know why they're still mad at me, it was five years ago. And Mr. Chair isn't even upset with me." Jesus said.

"What you did was pretty bad." Pipé scolded him.

"I know... I'm so sorry... I just wish I could convince them of that..." Jesus mumbled, causing Pipé to sigh.

"Well if they haven't forgiven you yet, I wouldn't force it." Pipé said.

"Well, thank you for the makeup." Jesus said with a somber tone.

"Je vous en prie. I'm sorry to bring this back up." Pipé responded with a comforting tone.

"It's fine... I was just trying to help him feel better... I wasn't thinking about long-term consequences... And I certainly wasn't thinking he would walk away thinking he _needed_ to be happy..."

* * *

"Good morning everybody! I'm so pumped!" Piggeh announced as he walked into the room, then stopped as he noticed Stephano, whistling. "Oh I'm loving the tight jeans Stephy!"

Stephano's face instantly flushed a golden orange.

"Pipé had to go take my clothes to be repaired. I'm just borrowing these for a bit!" Stephano said angrily.

"You know what, I'm with you on this one Stephano. I don't really care for the idea of Piggeh... _Complimenting_ my jeans." Skully said, looking up from a few pieces of paper in front of him and Mr. Chair. Stephano still had no idea what those were about. Mr. Chair had just asked Skully if he had "anything new" and he had brought those out.

"So, is Jennifer up yet?" Stephano asked, not wanting to give Piggeh any time to respond to that.

"Oh yeah, she actually woke up before me, but needed a few extra minutes." Piggeh answered, slumping next to Stephano on the sofa.

"On what?" Stephano asked, and as if to answer his question, Jennifer walked in.

To his surprise, she was wearing completely new clothes. She still kept her hair ribbon, leggings, and boots, but was now wearing a light purple t-shirt with a violet-pink brofist on it, a pleated skirt of the same color, and an open gray hoodie with white sleeves that had a purple morning glory motif embroidered onto them.

"You got a new outfit?" Mr. Chair asked, causing the rock to blush a little.

"Oh this? I... My clothes were getting tighter, I think I gained some weight again. I grabbed some things that were a little looser at the market." Jennifer said quietly as she rubbed her arm, noticeably feeling very insecure about her weight gain. "I also grabbed a new coat. It's pretty cold lately..."

Stephano stood up and walked over, placing a hand on Jennifer's shoulder before giving her a kind smile. "I think this suits you Jennifer. You look great."

"Thank you..." Jennifer said then pulled on Stephano's hoodie. "Not that I can say the same for you."

 **"I'm just borrowing these!"** Stephano said frustrated, causing the whole room to laugh.

"So, are we gonna head out soon?" Jennifer asked.

"Not yet. Pipé still needs to come back with Stephano's clothes. We'll need to sit tight for a bit." Mr. Chair said.

"Oh, okay." Jennifer said and looked to Stephano before pointing to the couch, silently asking if she can take his seat and talk with Piggeh, to which Stephano nodded.

As she did, Stephano walked over to the bookshelf, wanting to find something to look at to pass the time.

"You know Stephano, I never did find out what you did to get your clothes all messed up like that. Would you like to share?" Skully asked.

"Why did you wait until now to bring it up?" Stephano replied confused.

"Well Piggeh was with you so if you didn't answer I could probably pry it out of him with some cheap booze." Skully stated bluntly.

"No comment." Piggeh said before turning back to Jennifer.

"Look, I got into a fight with a servant grunt. That's all." Stephano answered, before pulling out a book, thinking it was over with.

"That doesn't make sense though. You didn't have a scratch on you, and laudanum can only go so far. Either you're not telling the truth, or you're leaving something out."

That's when everyone else in the room paused as they all realized the same thing.

**_Pipé didn't tell him about Janus._ **

"Well?" Skully asked.

"I don't have to tell you anything else." Stephano muttered, already feeling the skull's glare on the back of his head.

"What ever happened to being of help to one another?"

Those words seemed to invoke a fury in Stephano, as he promptly dropped his book and spun around.

"I don't know, what did happen Lucian?! You are the one who started to hate me all of a sudden!"

"Oh, so now you're pushing the blame on me?" Skully asked, gritting his teeth as he stood up.

"Skully, calm down, we'll be out of your hair soon enough-" Mr. Chair tried to calm the tension.

"No, I'm sick of him getting away with everything! Because no one will call him on anything!" Skully yelled.

"Getting away with everything? All I did was gain the favor of some idiot. And people say I was in love with him, you obsess over him more than even Jennifer did!"

"Hey, Steph! If you're going to argue with Skully, you can leave the rest of us out of it." Piggeh quickly came to Jennifer's defense.

Everyone immediately heard quickened footsteps as Pipé swung open the door, a bundle of gold clothes in her hands.

"Why do I hear fighting?! I thought I told you two to behave!" Pipé yelled.

"You know what, stay out of this Pipé!" Skully shouted.

"Skully-"

"This isn't about Pewdie! Do you really think I'd be so angry over something so petty? I know what it is you're keeping secret. I can't trust you."

"Then what is it?! Tell me, what am I hiding that makes you hate me so much?!"

"You sold out the community base to the Barrels!"

After Skully had said that, the entire room went silent.

"That's what this is about?" Stephano asked before he began to laugh. "Oh god... That's what this is all about... Skully, no one knew how serious things were back then. We weren't being careful. We just got tailed."

"You can't even tell the truth five years later. This is why I don't trust you..."

"No, no. It's not about you trusting me. It's about you and your god damn paranoia-" As Stephano said this, he made eye contact with Mayo, seeing the look of shock and, most of all, disappointment on the boy's face. He immediately began to regret what he had said.

"Get. Out." Skully's tone of voice was a cold tranquil fury.

"Of course..." Stephano mumbled, avoiding eye contact with anyone as he walked over to Pipé.

"We'll talk about this later." Pipé told him sternly as she handed Stephano his clothes.

"Right..." Stephano said, leaving the room to go change.

"I'm sorry..." Mr. Chair said to Skully.

"It's fine, just go."

* * *

"Ah, finally home!" Piggeh exclaimed as the group entered their base.

"I'm surprised nothing happened to it while we were away." Jennifer said somewhat exasperated. "I'm gonna fix up some food, I haven't eaten since last night. Anyone want anything?"

"No, I'm good." Stephano said as he began walking to his room.

"Hey Stephano?" Mr. Chair called out, stopping Stephano from opening his door. "Was there any merit to what Skully was saying? Did you actually sell out the community base?"

"No, no there isn't." Stephano said before entering his room.

As he shut the door behind him and walked further in, he waited a moment to be sure no one was coming. He tried to hold it together a little longer, pretend he was fine and just go to bed, but it wasn't happening. He felt himself choke a bit as he desperately tried to keep it together, his shoulders hunching as he started to physically shake, but finally let himself drop to the floor and begin sobbing.

Hiccuping slightly, he scooted closer to his bed, leaning back against it as he looked to the ceiling, tears blurring his vision as he cried.

_'This is why I'm always alone... Isn't it?'_


	8. White Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Violence towards children, possibilities of emotional abuse, implied pedophilic intentions, child kidnapping, chloroform use, mentions of racism

_In the language of the flowers, white lilies represent innocence and death..._

* * *

"Mayo, I'm back!" Mr. Chair called out as he entered the bedroom that he and his little brother called home. As he set down a bag of supplies he noticed the lack of a child excitedly running up to him and hugging his leg. "Mayo?"

He began to look around the room, worry creeping into every nerve as he became more frantic. Every possible worst case scenario played at once in his head. Mayo sneaking out and getting mauled by a bro, someone finding and kidnapping him, Mayo sneaking out and getting kidnapped-

As he walked near the closet, paranoia overtaking him and giving him the urge to run out the door screaming his brother's name, he was caught off guard by the door to the wardrobe suddenly throwing open as a small figure jumped out, screaming as it tackled Mr. Chair to the ground.

With a scream and gasp, Mr. Chair finally took in the site of his eight year old brother sitting on his chest. He was giggling as short blonde hair covered by a brown cap drooped over his face, nearly concealing amber-brown eyes. He wore a yellow t-shirt and brown overalls.

"Mayo!" Mr. Chair yelled as he sat up and hugged the boy tightly. "You scared me!"

"That was the point!" Mayo giggled as he gave Mr. Chair a kiss on the cheek.

"Not like that... You can't just hide from me like that. I was worried something happened to you." Mr. Chair felt like he couldn't let Mayo go. His whole body was wracked with shivers as he was still in the process of realizing Mayo was okay.

"I'm sorry Green..."

"It's fine..." Mr. Chair finally managed to pull away and fixed Mayo's hair. "How have you been?"

"Good!" Mayo hopped off of his brother and ran over to a table with some paints littered about. "I made you something!"

"Oh, you did?" Mr. Chair asked, getting up and following the child.

"Yeah!" Mayo said excitedly then shoved a piece of paper towards him. "I painted you and me!"

Mr. Chair took the paper and lifted it to his face, seeing a crude drawing of what he could assume were supposed to be himself and Mayo. Nevertheless, it made him smile.

"It looks great Mayo."

"Really, you think so?" Mayo asked, to which Mr. Chair nodded. "Thank you!"

Mayo immediately hugged him, and Mr. Chair responded in turn.

_'I know this won't last... One day you'll have to see just how hellish this castle is, and I won't be able to protect you from it forever... But please, keep this innocence a little longer....'_

* * *

Mayo groaned a bit as he heard bickering outside his door. Nothing serious, he could even hear Piggeh laughing, but it was still enough to wake him up. He sat up, yawning as he examined his room, holding a clown doll with curly blonde hair close to his chest.

It had been been about a week since that... _Incident_ at Skully and Pipé's base. It took a bit for things to settle down, but normalcy returned soon enough. Though it upset him that it was never really talked about and seemed to have been swept under the rug. He wondered if it was just normal for things to be settled like that.

They eventually cleared out the stuff being stored in his room. Some things got thrown out while everyone else just took what was theirs' and put it in their own rooms. They let him keep a few little things though, and a few days ago they even got to play that board game they had left the base to get him a piece for. It was really fun, especially when Stephano started accusing Green of cheating.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he set down his doll and got out of bed, proceeding to walk over to the vanity where he brushed his hair and tied it back with a white ribbon. As he went to the wardrobe and changed out his pajamas, he caught sight of a scar on his upper back from his reflection. He ran a hand over it, unsure if the stinging feeling that followed was real or imaginary.

He changed into his everyday outfit before he left his room, seeing a usual scene below. Stephano being annoyed by an ever flirtatious Piggeh, Jennifer trying to play peacemaker, and Green-

Wait where was Mr. Chair?

As if to answer his question, he saw his brother leave his room. He was wearing his usual clothes with the addition of a long brown cloak that covered up nearly the entirety of his shirt. He had also seemingly ditched his beret today.

"Okay, I'll be back within an hour or so." Mr. Chair said as he made his way to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Mayo asked, catching his brother's attention.

"I'm going to town and grabbing a few things."

"Town? Like outside the castle town?" Mayo's question was answered with a nod by Mr. Chair. "I didn't know we can go out there!"

"Well we can, just not very long or very far. If you spend too much time outside the castle you start reverting to object form, and if you don't come back here in time you're stuck like that." Piggeh explained.

"Has that happened before?" The uncomfortable silence by the other Bros answered Mayo's question. "Well, can I come?"

"Umm... Not today. Maybe when it's Jennifer's turn. You just have to pretend she's your big sister or mom." Mr. Chair chuckled a bit as he turned to leave again.

"Why can't I go with you?" Mayo asked.

The Bros paused for a few minutes, muttering a few more _umms_ , before Stephano made up his mind and sighed.

"It's because you're white and he's not."

"White? What do you mean?" Mayo was very confused about the new term.

"Stephano!" Mr. Chair said angrily to Stephano before turning back to Mayo. "Look, I'll explain more later. All I can say is that Altstadt isn't the most... Open minded place."

"That's an understatement..." Piggeh mumbled.

"Look, I'll bring you back something nice, then you can try with Jennifer another day."

"Okay..." Mayo said.

"I'll see you guys later. Goodbye." Mr. Chair then left the base.

After he did, Piggeh stood up and walked into his room, leaving the door open so he could talk from inside. "You know what, I have something I wanna do too. I'll also be back within an hour!"

Piggeh came out of his room wearing a cloak much like Mr. Chair's, but it was black, had built in sleeves, was a tiny bit longer, and had a hood which covered up his pink head of hair and most of his face.

"Hey, if Piggeh can go with Mr. Chair, why can't I?" Mayo huffed.

"Easy. I'm not joining Mr. Chair, I'm doing something else. And you can't come with me either." Piggeh stated bluntly as he opened the door. "See you later!"

Before anyone could say anything, he shut the door behind him. Mayo sighed, coming down to the living room and sitting where Piggeh was. Stephano looked at the teenager, thinking for a moment before turning to Jennifer.

"Jen, do you think you could hold down the fort?"

 _'So Stephano is also going somewhere?'_ Mayo thought bitterly.

"I suppose, why?" Jennifer asked.

"I think we're running low on a few things. I'd like to do a supply search." Stephano said, getting up and grabbing one of their scavenging bags.

Mayo sighed, almost about to just go back upstairs and sleep a bit longer when Stephano walked over.

"Would you like to come with me? It's not as exciting as outside the castle, but it's better than staying inside the base bored all day."

Mayo's eyes instantly lit up. "Can I?"

"Of course." Stephano assured then looked at Jennifer. "You really are okay here by yourself, right?"

"Yes, yes. I'd like some me time. You boys have fun." Jennifer laughed. "Though grab some food before you head out. Mayo hasn't had breakfast yet."

Mayo couldn't help but laugh a little at the reminder.

"Oh, right..."

* * *

"Mayo... Mayo..."

The sound of his brother's voice gently stirred the child from his sleep. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes to meet with emerald green.

"Green?" Mayo asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to wake himself up.

"Mayo, guess what day it is!" Mr. Chair said in a singsong voice.

Mayo paused for a moment, trying to remember what day it would be.

"It's your birthday! You're turning nine!"

Hearing these words, Mayo immediately sat up, looking to his brother with excitement.

"It's my birthday?!"

"Yep! And I got up early and grabbed something for you!" Mr. Chair said and handed Mayo a small mug which was filled with a few squishy looking brown candies. He picked up one and ate it, finding it to be pretty sticky with a sweet flavor.

"Thank you Green!" Mayo said, hugging his brother.

"Don't thank me yet. You wanted to come meet my friends, right?" Mr. Chair said, and Mayo's excitement became as evident as a jar full of bees. "Since it's your birthday, you can come with me when I go see Pewdie and the others today. That said, we need to establish a few rules before we go, okay?"

"Okay!" Mayo said eagerly, and Mr. Chair could only hope he was actually going to process anything he said.

"First of all, never go where I can't see you. Monsters will always go for Pewdie instead of us, but it's still a pretty dangerous environment. It's one of the big reasons I never took you before. It's not all fun and games."

"Alright." Mayo nodded.

"Secondly, while I'm sure my friends will keep their language clean, Pewds may be a little less tactful. So don't repeat any _new_ words he might say. They might be bad words."

"Bad words?" Mayo asked.

"Yes. Third, this doesn't mean you can always come with me. Today is the exception, not the rule."

The third rule immediately killed Mayo's excitement, but he nodded anyway.

"Good. Get ready, and we can go."

* * *

The warnings and rules played over and over in Mayo's head, but by the time he had placed his hand on the doorknob, it was too late to stop him. Currently he was already far from his room. Going out yesterday, being on adventures surrounded by new people was exhilarating. That Pewdie guy was so dumb, but he was also so fun to be around! How was he supposed to just wait for when Green said it was okay to tag along anymore? Things went fine last time, what could go wrong this time?

Well, being chased by a monster before he even found Pewds was one thing!

Mayo screamed as he darted down the halls, tears welling up and obstructing his vision. He had hoped if he just ran fast enough it would lose him, but he had forgotten how fast it actually was, and it would not leave the boy alone until it saw him ripped to shreds.

It seemed like it would get it's wish, as Mayo's foot got caught onto a slightly lifted up plank of wood and next thing he knew, his face was against the ground, and he felt a particularly harsh pain in his nose. He wanted to keep running, but as he looked up and saw the bro mere inches away from him about to strike, he froze.

He began to sob, curling up slightly as he already began to regret not writing a farewell letter to his brother, when something happened.

A gold blade pierced through the monster, and as it turned to strike it's attacker, they just as quickly pulled the sword out and sliced through it's head. The man made sure to grab the monster before it could fall on the boy, throwing it to the side instead. Mayo watched as the man panted for a few seconds.

"You're Chair's brother, right? What are you doing out here alone?" His rescuer asked as he sat down in front of Mayo, looking at him with golden eyes that fascinated the boy. They lacked a deeper color like Green's, but made up for it with a shine that was reminiscent of gold's luster. His voice was low but not really deep, with a small sense of scratchiness to it.

He recognized him as one of the people he met yesterday. His name was Stephano.

"I-I wanted to see Pewdie again..." Mayo said sniffling a bit as he felt something dripping from his nose. He reached to touch the substance and when he pulled his hand away he saw blood on his fingertips.

"Oh, you're bleeding." Stephano then began searching himself for something. He pulled out a bottle of green liquid before he reached under his odd hood and untied something, pulling out a small gold cloth. "Here, drink this."

The man held out the medicine, and Mayo took it, hesitantly opening the bottle before taking a sip. He couldn't help but cough on the bitter taste immediately.

"I know, it doesn't taste good, but it'll stop the blood." Stephano said then held out what he was using to presumably tie his hair back. "You can use this to wipe it up. It's not ideal but I don't have a handkerchief."

Mayo nodded and finished the drink, then he took the cloth and wiped up the blood as best as possible.

"Does Mr. Chair know you're out here?" Stephano asked.

"N-No." Mayo answered honestly.

"Oh mon dieu... Are you out here without permission?" Stephano's tone was stern, and the hesitance to answer on Mayo's part told him all he needed to know. Stephano stood up and held his hand out to the child. "Come on, I'm going to take you to your brother."

"W-Wait! Please don't! I don't get to do this much! If Green finds out I won't be allowed to ever again!" Mayo said and quickly got up.

"Oh come on, that's an exaggeration." Stephano couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"You wanna bet?" Mayo said, taking Stephano off guard for a moment.

"Lot of sass for an eight year old-"

"I'm nine."

Stephano chuckled a bit and leaned down. His hair now had no choice but to hang loosely around his face. It shocked Mayo to see how long it actually was.

"Tell you what, I'll bring you with me to go see Pewdie, but you have to stay close to me, and if Mr. Chair finds us I have to pretend I was in fact bringing you to him."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Mayo asked.

"You don't." He replied, then he held out his pinky finger. "Will you trust me though?"

Mayo looked at him for a second before he wrapped his own pinky around the golden one.

"Alright, follow me." Stephano said as he began leading the small table down the hall.

Mayo followed, looking up at the man who was now going to help him find Pewdie. He tried to remember the events of the previous day. If he recalled correctly, he was a statuette? It certainly explains a lot about him. He hadn't really interacted with him too much, so he didn't realize a lot about him until just now, like how pretty he was.

Suddenly, Stephano stopped walking and let out an annoyed sigh before he looked back at Mayo.

"What is it?" Mayo asked.

"You're too slow." Stephano stated bluntly before he knelt down. "Get on my back. I'll carry you."

Mayo was confused, but he complied, walking over and carefully climbing onto the man's back. Stephano hooked his arms under Mayo's knees and stood up.

"Is that okay ma puce?" Stephano asked.

"Yeah. It's fine. And I have a name." Mayo said. "Whatever mah poose is-"

"What is your name again?" Stephano laughed a little as he began walking again.

"It's Mayo! And you're Stephano, right?"

"Right, and I was joking. I know your name. Mr. Chair never lets me forget." Stephano's tone was filled with amusement and exasperation.

"Why do you call my brother Mr. Chair? His name is Green."

"I... We're not close enough for me to call him that."

Mayo was confused. Weren't they friends? Green always said "my friends" about people like Stephano.

Before he could inquire further, they heard a high pitched scream.

"Ah, looks like we're close." Stephano said as he began to head in that direction.

_'I hope Green won't catch me.'_

* * *

Lucky for him, Mr. Chair hadn't caught him that day. Or even the next. But eventually, his luck ran out. Didn't help that Mayo had walked right up to Pewds, when he had unfortunately been interacting with his brother.

"O-Ow! Green! You're hurting my arm!" Mayo cried as he tried to pry his arm away from Mr. Chair's iron grip.

"What did I tell you?! You're not supposed to go anywhere without me! And apparently, this isn't even the first time you've done this?!" Mr. Chair ranted angrily as he was dragging Mayo back to their room.

"Let go of me!!!" Mayo yelled, and when Mr. Chair didn't he leaned forward-

"Ow!!!" Mr. Chair pulled his hand away. "Did you just bite me?!"

"You never let me go anywhere!! I'm always stuck in that- that- **FUCKING** room!"

"Oh, so you're swearing now?" Mr. Chair laughed angrily then groaned.

"Why can't you just let me have fun?! You always leave me anyway! What do you want me to do every hour, every single day?! Play with the same five toys, paint pictures?! I like exploring!!" Mayo yelled, face turning redder with every word.

"You know what..." Mr. Chair said turning away from him. "You want to have your fun little adventures, fine. But if something bad happens, don't come to me to help you."

"Green-"

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it." Mr. Chair interrupted as he began to walk down the hall. "I'll see you at home, whenever you decide to come back."

Mayo sighed as he leaned against the wall, sliding down to slouching on the floor. He took off his cap and began fiddling with a loose string.

_'Was I being mean? Maybe Green is right... I almost died that first day... I just wish we could both get what we want.'_

"Oh, good evening!"

Mayo jumped a bit at the voice and looked to see a man nearby. He was wearing a brown and grey jacket over a black t shirt and brown jeans. He had brown hair in a bowl cut, and his eyes were covered by a pair of pitch black sunglasses.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" The man chuckled and walked closer. "Would you mind a chat real quick?"

"I guess I have nothing better to do." Mayo said and sat up straight. "Aren't you a barrel though?"

"I am, but it's not like I can't be civil." The man replied as he sat next to the child. "What's your name?"

"Mayo." He answered, staring at his sunglasses in an attempt to see the eyes beyond them.

"Mayo, huh? You must be the youngest Chair."

"Youngest Chair?" Mayo asked.

"Yeah. You're the youngest of your siblings." The barrel explained.

"Yeah, but I only have one brother." Mayo said.

"Actually... You have two. I know your oldest brother, Red."

"Red?" Mayo asked, his attention piqued.

"Mhm. He's the general for the Barrels. It's a pretty big point of contention between your brothers, so I'm not surprised he never told you about him. Though Red says he would really like to see you someday."

"He does?" Mayo mumbled, trying to process the new information.

"Very much so." The man said, then seemed to get a brilliant idea. "You know, I can help you two meet, but I'd need your help with something first."

"Like what?" Mayo asked.

"First, you can't tell anyone you're trying to meet Red. The Bros and Barrels have some pretty high tension, especially lately, and no one will understand your wishes."

"Okay..." Mayo said, somewhat amused by the dramatic way he said it, but he understood what he was saying.

"Now, how attached are you to Pewdie?"

"Umm... I think he's fun to be around. I like him."

"How would you feel if he didn't like you?"

"What do you mean?" Mayo was very confused by that.

"I want you to pretend you're a Barrel whenever you're with Pewds, for an experiment, I won't bore you with too many details. Of course, the Bros will know you're just joking, they'll probably even think it's hilarious. That said, Pewdie himself will most likely think you're being serious."

Mayo thought for a moment. He liked Pewdie well enough, but he wasn't pining for his attention like a lot of the adults, and he saw how Pewdie usually acted with people he hated like the Barrels or the Untrusted Statues, so it's not like anything bad would happen to him just for pretending to be one of them. Besides, he could always explain he was joking later.

"Okay, sounds fun!"

"Great! If you do that, I'll be able to arrange a meeting with Red."

* * *

When Mayo entered his and Mr. Chair's home he was still scared of getting into another argument with him, but he was surprised to see a teary eyed Green holding a few books and turning to him.

"I-I umm... I saw and grabbed these. I thought you might find them interesting-" Mr. Chair said, his voice a little hoarse. His breath then began to hitch.

"Green?" Mayo quickly ran to his brother, who immediately knelt down and hugged him.

"I'm sorry... I-I shouldn't have said that...." Mr. Chair was barely able to get that out in-between gasps. "I-I'm just so scared... I don't want to lose you..."

"Lose me?" Mayo asked, remembering what the barrel had said about Red. "Have you... Lost anyone else?"

Mr. Chair stayed silent for a moment as he tried to calm down, then he pulled away and stood up.

"Mayo, if you want to go out and explore I won't stop you anymore... But please stay safe, stay where another bro can see you. I... I still don't like it, but I don't know what else to do." Mr. Chair said as he tried to clean his face up. Mayo couldn't help but be disappointed that he avoided his question, but he was relieved that he seemed to be loosening up.

"I know... We can figure it out, okay? Maybe we can go find Pewdie together when we go out, and then do what we want?"

"Yeah... That makes sense." Mr. Chair said and stood up, taking off his brother's hat and ruffling his hair a bit, giving him a small smile. "I-I'm glad we could compromise. Anyway, it's late. Let's get to bed."

"Okay..."

He hadn't quite made up his mind yet, but now he had. He's going to meet Red, figure out what it is that Green won't tell him...

It really couldn't hurt, could it?

* * *

It had been several months since he told Pewdie he had been working with the Barrels. As the man had predicted, Pewds took him seriously and genuinely thought he was a Barrel. No one else did though, and it became something of a running joke for awhile, like; _"Oh no, it's Mayo! The most evil barrel of them all!"_

Thankfully, no one had seemed to know Mayo had another intention.

Though despite doing what he wanted, Mayo had yet to see Red like he was promised. He started to wonder if it was some lie, and that's why Mr. Chair didn't respond when he asked if he had lost anyone else. Not like it mattered anymore. Nothing bad happened, the Barrels' experiment had probably succeeded, and his relationship with Mr. Chair was back to normal.

Currently he was laying in bed, feeling like he was dying from the hot air of coming summer. Mr. Chair meanwhile was preparing to leave. Mayo opened his eyes when he felt a quick peck on the cheek.

"No!! It's too hot for kisses!" Mayo yelled, swatting at his older brother who laughed and backed up.

"I'm going to look for some supplies, I'll be back in no time."

"Okay, bye Green." Mayo said, lazily waving to his leaving brother.

Mayo stayed still for a few minutes, still exhausted from the heat, but soon got bored and rolled out of bed. He went to open the bedside cabinet and retrieve his paint, but stopped when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Then as they reached his door, they stopped.

Mr. Chair said he'd be back in no time, but even that's too quick.

"Green?" Mayo asked softly, preparing to hide.

"Oh you're in there, good!" He heard a voice say from outside. "Could you come outside, please?"

"Who's there?" Mayo asked.

"We talked about meeting your brother, Red. May we talk?"

Mayo was surprised. It was May now, they last talked in February. Why now?

"How long will this be? My brother will be back soon."

"It won't take more than a moment. I promise." The voice assured.

"Okay..." Mayo put on his brown cap and opened the door, seeing the barrel scout outside waiting for him.

"Follow me, we're not going far." He said as he held out a hand to the boy. Mayo took it and followed the man down the hall.

Looking up at him, Mayo couldn't help but get the feeling that he was different from last time, but it had been so long that he didn't know how.

"Did you get a haircut?"

"Why do you ask?" The man chuckled as he asked.

"No reason." Mayo said, deciding it was probably nothing.

They continued through the halls, but then the man suddenly stopped.

"Sir?" Mayo asked.

Then, to his surprise, the barrels' grip on his hand got tighter and he pulled a dagger out of his belt.

"Wait- What are you doing?!" Mayo attempted to struggle away from his grasp as the man pulled him closer. "GREEN!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!"

Then, the man pushed the blade into the child's upper back, causing the boy to gasp in pain and shock.

"I'm so sorry." The man simply stated before he removed the blade. He pulled a rag out of his pocket and held it to the boy's face. Mayo could smell an almost sickeningly sweet scent on the cloth.

The last thing Mayo felt before he blacked out was blood pouring from his wound, and his hat falling off as he slumped over.

* * *

Mayo groaned a bit as he heard bickering outside his door. It took him a minute to remember what had happened, and when he did, he quickly sat up, crying immediately from the feeling of pain on his back. He looked down at himself, seeing his torso was covered by bandages.

"Let me in there. I just heard him yell." He heard a voice say from outside. It sounded like he's heard it before, yet different. It kinda sounded like...

Mayo climbed out of the bed, looking around the room. It was much smaller than his and Mr. Chair's room. There was only a small bed in the room, a dresser, and a mirror. There were a few lit candles on the wall, but some seem to have gone out. On the dresser rested a small unlit lantern.

The room was just dark enough that the sudden light from the door opening shocked him. He looked over, seeing a silhouette that immediately brought him joy.

"Stephano!!" Mayo cried out as he ran to the man and hugged him. "Y-You saved me!"

It made sense now. Stephano came by and saw the barrel attacking him, fought him off, and took him somewhere to rest and heal, right?

"Stephano...?"

That's when Mayo's eyes adjusted to the light, seeing that the clothes he had his face buried in were silver, not gold. He pulled away and backed up, seeing the man was in fact not Stephano. They looked similar, but there were noticeable differences. This man had a noticeably softer face than his lookalike, and what Mayo could see of his hair was a lot wavier than Stephano's. He also lacked any sort of beard unlike Stephano who seemed to always have one just trimmed to stubble.

"W-Who are you?" He asked, now more confused than ever.

"I'm Gonzales." The man answered and knelt down to the boy. "Are you okay? Did you reopen the wound?"

"I-I... I don't know..."

"Turn around." Gonzales ordered and Mayo did so. He felt him feel his back and the bandages, making Mayo want to move away. "Good, it's still shut. I was worried when I heard you cry out like that."

"Sir, where am I?" Mayo asked, looking back at the stranger.

"You're in the barrel base." He answered, and Mayo's heart dropped immediately.

"You're not... Rescuing me... Are you..."

Gonzales sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry, I'm not. I can't."

Hearing these words, Mayo began to feel everything become a blur. His chest felt like it was closing in on itself and his head began to pound as tears welled up in his eyes. Seeing this, the silver man hugged the boy close, letting him sob into his stomach.

"I-I don't want to be here. I want my big brother..." Mayo hiccuped. "I miss him so much..."

"I... I understand how you feel."

"Y-You do?" The child asked and wiped his face.

Gonzales nodded.

"Though, my problems are nowhere near as big...." He said and stood up. "If you have to stay here, and I can't do anything about it, at the very least I can do something nice for you. Wait one moment."

Gonzales then left the room, and Mayo could see a few other people peek in. It made him want to hide, get away from these people staring at him like he was on display. He watched as Gonzales led another man near his room. He was pretty tall with shaggy brown hair, mostly wearing red clothes. He was holding a crate filled with miscellaneous items.

"Red, can I borrow that for a second?"

Red?

"Why do you need it? It's going straight to our kindling-"

"Red?!" Mayo couldn't help but yell out, catching the attention of both of the men. He attempted to run out, but a woman in the barrel uniform standing near the door held him back from getting too far out of the room.

"Have you two met?" Gonzales asked.

"No." Red stated bluntly. "I've never met him in my life."

Hearing those words somehow felt more painful than the knife that had literally been placed in his back.

_"Red says he would really like to see you someday."_

That was a lie?

"Anyway, can I borrow it for a second?" Gonzales asked, and his companion shrugged, handing him the crate. "Thanks, I'll return it to you later."

"Okay..." Red said a little confused as he began to walk away.

Gonzales made his way back to the door, giving the woman who had stopped Mayo a quick glare to tell her to let Mayo go, so she did. Gonzales placed a hand on Mayo's shoulder and led him back into the bedroom that seemed to be more like Mayo's cell, shutting the door behind them.

"Mayo, right?" Gonzales asked, and the boy nodded. "So, we were clearing out some old stuff to use as fire kindling, and I was thinking before we just burned it... Would you like to look through and pick some stuff out to keep for yourself?"

"Can I?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Gonzales said and placed the crate on the ground for the child to look through.

Mayo began wading through the junk, not seeing much stuff of interest. Then he saw a small doll. He picked it up to examine it further. It had dirty blonde hair in thick curls, part of it's porcelain face was cracked open leaving only one shining blue eye and a green star painted on it's cheek. It's body was stuffed fabric, covered by a baggy yellow satin jumpsuit with white buttons going down the chest, and at the top was a large red collar and an orange bow.

"I like this one!" Mayo said excitedly.

"Are you sure?" Gonzales asked, his eyes somewhat wide as he looked a little afraid.

"Yeah, he looks cool!" Mayo said and looked at the doll again. "I think I'll call him Jiggs!"

"Alright, Jiggs. Good choice mon chou." Gonzales said a little nervously as he ruffled the boy's hair, then he leaned in and whispered. "I can't help you, I mean that. But I'll see if I can get you more freedoms. Maybe one day, you could escape on your own."

Mayo nodded, and Gonzales stood up.

"Get some rest, your back still needs to heal. I'll have someone bring you food shortly."

With that, Gonzales left, leaving Mayo and his new doll alone in the room that was now his prison.

* * *

Mayo felt himself stir from sleep at the feeling of someone touching his face.

It had been a little more than a month since he was first kidnapped. New people had joined the Barrels, and it was always funny to listen to the members who were already there have to explain to the new people that they had a captive child. The funniest was probably that Broom girl, who proceeded to yell a bunch of words that would have gotten him grounded with Mr. Chair in the direction of literally anyone in her line of sight.

He felt the hand go lower, moving the blanket off of his body. Getting annoyed, he finally opened his eyes to see the person disturbing him. He saw the shape of a man in front of him, though it was too dark to see much else. Especially when just seconds afterwards, the person was ripped away from him and he heard a slam on the wall.

Startled, Mayo sat up, seeing none other than Red pinning the intruder face first against the wall, and most alarmingly, he was holding the barrel of a gun to his head.

"What were you doing?" Red asked angrily.

"I-I was just checking on him-" The man answered. Mayo now recognized him as one of those new guys. He never bothered to learn his name, he only remembered him because he was the only one who didn't freak out when he was told there was a kid locked up in the base.

 **"Do you think I'm stupid?!"** Red shouted, and Mayo could tell that Red was holding back the urge to pull the trigger based on the way his finger kept moving.

"Red, what's going on?"

Mayo looked to see two people standing in the doorway. One was Gonzales, and the other was Sammy Sue, a woman who joined the barrels a little after he got kidnapped. Both of them were in their nightwear.

"Gonzales, go get the guards and tell them to come here! And tell Bengt he has a new subject." Red ordered, evidently seething.

"Yes sir!" Gonzales said and went to go carry out his orders. Sammy meanwhile entered the room and hurried to Mayo's bedside.

"Hey babe, are you okay?" Sammy Sue asked. Short messy blonde hair framed her pale face, and her blue eyes looked to the boy with concern.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?" Mayo asked, and Sammy only sighed relieved.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're okay." Sammy said and hugged the child, who sleepily hugged back.

He watched as a few untrusted statues entered the room with Gonzales, where Red immediately told them to take this 'creep' to the dungeons.

"Mayo, I don't like the idea of you being defenseless in here." Sammy piped up. "Meet me in the training room tomorrow, and I can at least teach you how to throw a punch."

Red looked back at them, but if this was against the rules he didn't say anything.

"O-Okay." Mayo said, watching as Red walked over.

"I'm sorry we woke you up. Go back to bed. You have a long day tomorrow." Red said simply and patted the boy's head.

"Goodnight Red, Sammy..."

"Goodnight kiddo, sleep well."

* * *

"Hey Steph, what's beyond this door?" Mayo asked, examining a door with a lever next to it.

"That leads to a more machine oriented area of the castle. I don't really like to go in there. People have started rigging everything to hell and back." Stephano explained.

"Why?" Mayo asked.

"I don't know, ask people like Miss Wheel." Stephano said, then to Mayo's surprise he pulled the lever.

"We're going in?"

"Yeah, might as well get a look." Stephano said and led him inside. "There might be something interesting in here."

Mayo followed as Stephano walked through rooms of hissing pipes and machinery. It was a lot more well lit than other places in the castle, except maybe The Filthy Pig.

Soon they came across a door and Stephano attempted to open it, but found it locked. Mayo looked around, and noticed a small window in the wall that was being used to feed a few pipes in and out of the rooms, but looked just big enough for someone small to squeeze through.

"Hey, lift me up through there." Mayo suggested, pointing up at the window. Stephano simply looked up before he shook his head.

"Make you squeeze through a hole with hot pipes on the sides when we don’t even know if it will open from that side? No. Appreciate the effort though." Stephano said, patting the boy’s shoulder. "There’s probably another lever that can unlock it on this side. Come on."

Stephano began looking around for the rooms and machinery, and as he watched Stephano, Mayo couldn't help but remember something that had been on his mind.

"Hey Steph, can I talk to you about something?"

"Hm what is it?" Stephano asked, looking back at the boy.

"Do you remember when I made everyone promise to not keep anymore secrets?" Mayo said, and Stephano shrugged.

"I think so, why?"

Mayo took a deep breath before looking straight to his companion.

"I know you’re keeping something else from everyone."

* * *

It had been five years.

Five years trapped in that place.

Sammy taught him flexibility and how to fight, Gonzales took care of him, and Red... Red was complicated, but he knew he cared about him, especially once he learned they were brothers.

He was sure someone would come save him eventually, but no one ever did. Five years came, and no one showed up. No Stephano, no Mr. Chair, not even Pewds. So, when no one was looking, he had started taking things.

They were always small. Loose nails, pins, butter knives, things so tiny no one would notice they were gone, but he had a stash of them hidden in his room. Every night when there was no one guarding his room, he began picking at the lock. Figuring out it's patterns, how it worked.

Tonight it finally unlocked.

Mayo almost couldn't believe it. Carefully, he opened the door, staying silent. He could see a few lights and people in the distance, but no one noticed his door was open. Grabbing his bag, he tiptoed out of his room, quietly closing the door to hide his tracks a bit longer.

Mayo snuck through the base, avoiding the eyes of the barrels on nightwatch. He was thankful for the dull colored brown and gray barrel uniform he was forced into upon outgrowing his old clothes as they helped him to blend into the darkness.

He set his sights on the big door, the other side being where his freedom lied. He couldn't deny there were people here that he would miss, but he had someone else he missed, and needed to see again. He wanted to know, why did no one come save him? Didn't anyone miss him?

Gathering all of his courage he made his way towards the door, knowing he would not be able to sneak past the guards and would have to just run as fast as he could.

He reached the door and looked back, seeing the familiar silver statue watching him. He nearly gasped, frozen in place. He wondered if this was how his escape attempt would end. So close to freedom, only for someone he considered a friend to lock him back in his cage.

Gonzales even stepped forward slightly, but stopped. He remained still for a moment, then simply looked to Mayo and mouthed; "Good luck."

Mayo gave him one last smile and mimed zipping his lips shut, assuring his friend that no one would ever have to know that he let him escape, and darted out the door. The teen heard a "HEY!!!" and the two guards chasing him, but he dared not look back. He kept running, even when he felt his rather messily done ponytail coming apart from the speed.

After awhile he couldn't hear them anymore and came to a halt, looking behind him and seeing nobody. Happiness overcame Mayo, causing him to literally scream from the joy.

He was finally free.

* * *

"Ah, finally!" Stephano exclaimed as he walked in a room with several panels of levers. 

Mayo elected to wait in the entryway, watching as Stephano fiddled with the machinery.

"And that should do it." Stephano announced as he pulled a lever.

Mayo heard the sound of something unlocking and cheered a bit. Looking to the door they wanted to go through.

"MAYO LOOK OUT!!!" 

Mayo looked up quickly to see the once risen panel separating this room from the rest quickly lowering down. Yelping he quickly jumped back, only to let the door separate him and Stephano.

"Oh fuck-"

"Shit, this is what I meant by people rigging the machines!" Stephano yelled frustrated, and Mayo could hear him pacing around in there. "Great, no way back out there- Hold on there’s a trap door!"

Mayo could then hear something being lifted up.

"Okay, you stay right there. I'll be with you as soon as possible."

Mayo listened as Stephano began to climb down a creaking ladder, soon hearing nothing.

He sighed and sat on a crate, staring at the pipes and walls. 

For a moment he thought he heard someone coming, but brushed it off. Stephano wouldn’t be back that quick, and if it was a person they were a lot lighter on their feet than him.

He brushed it off as the pounding of the mechanisms.

* * *

Mayo looked around the halls, relieved at how familiar things were getting as he walked through them. Finally, he set his eyes on the door he was looking for.

He reached out for the knob, his hands shaking with his throat feeling tight.

"Green, it's me! I'm back!" Mayo announced as he swung the door open, but then all of his excitement left his body.

There was no one in the room.

It still had the same furniture as before. Two beds against the wall, a cabinet between them with a window above it, a table and two chairs, and a wardrobe near the door. Yet, this room had clearly been ransacked. Almost everything was covered in dust.

He walked inside and opened the cabinet. It had previously been the home to his paints and the pictures he made with them, as well as his favorite toys, but there was nothing in there anymore.

He stood up and looked out the window. Sitting on the sill was a bird's nest. Like the room, it looked like it hadn't been used in awhile.

Five years... It was a little long to wait for your brother to come home, wasn't it?

Wiping the tears falling down his cheek, Mayo laid down in the bed that once belonged to him, now cold from lack of use. Pulling the clown doll out of his bag, he held it close. His chest tightened severely and it felt like he couldn't breathe.

Even so, despite allowing himself to have a moment to grieve the lost childhood he should have had, his resolve did not waver.

_"Green... I'm coming home... I promise."_

* * *

"I apologize, that took a little longer than I expected." Stephano said as he entered the room he left the boy in. "Anyway, we've been out here awhile. We should probably just head back. We’ll come back here another day, okay Mayo?"

There was no answer, and Stephano couldn’t see him anywhere in the room.

"Mayo?"


	9. Acid Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Gory descriptions, torture, physical assault, abuse, and death

"Bengt?" Broom called out as she entered the dungeon, holding a tray carefully as she descended down the stairs.

"I'm in here!" She watched as a bloody hand poked out of a cell and wave.

"Okay! Can you open the door for me? My hands are full." Broom asked, and Bengt complied by unlocking the cell door and pushing it open.

Entering, Broom gulped as she saw a heavily mutilated man sitting in a chair, a bag over his head with every part of his body strapped down as Bengt was over by a table, red and white striped hair framing a smile on his face as he looked at what tool to use next.

"Hey Bengt, you've had this guy for years now, when will you stop torturing him?" Broom asked a little nervously.

"I would, but I only get so many occasions to use my talents for the Barrels, and who knows when we'll get another person so stupid and vile that Iron Maiden withdraws my limits for them?" Bengt chuckled. "Now, what brings you here?"

"Oh uhh I was told to bring you your lunch." Broom held out the tray before placing it on the table. Bengt's pitch black eyes seemed to light up and his tone turned to delight.

"Oh, thank you dear. I was getting quite peckish and worried I would have to leave before I was satisfied." He said a little too joyfully for the subject of torturing a man, albeit an awful man, for five years straight.

"No problem." Broom said as Bengt went to go wash his hands in the basin. She turned to leave, but then remembered something that had been on her mind and turned back around. "Hey Bengt, may I ask you something?"

"If you must." Bengt said with a low growl, then laughed in his usual merry way as he saw fear on Broom's face. "I'm only playing. Ask away love."

"Right-" Broom laughed with discomfort. "So, you remember how I used to be a Bro, right?"

"Oh, quite. I'm sure if we met before you joined the Barrels you would have made an excellent subject."

Broom had no idea what to make of that sentence, but kept going as she watched Bengt get his food.

"Yeah, well when I was with them, I would hear some interesting theories... And one piece of speculation was about you-"

"Oh, how delightful! Rumors about me! Do tell!" Bengt said excitedly and Broom was sure she saw his cowlicks that looked suspiciously like devil horns perk up like a dog's ears.

"Well... Some of us thought that you... And Baron Alexander... Were the same person." Broom said.

"Me? Alexander? How interesting." Bengt chuckled lowly then looked to the girl he towered over. "Don't tell me you believe that though, do you?"

"No- Well... I was curious?" That statement made Broom really nervous. Was he offended? Was he angry?

"Well, you Bros don't do your research, do you?" Bengt tutted and bit into an apple. "I can see why on the surface one would think we are connected, even one and the same. However, there is one piece of evidence that completely discredits the thought."

"What is it?"

"It is our ideologies on violence." Bengt said, picking up a knife and walking over to the man strapped down, who tensed up as he heard the click of his heels come closer. "Alexander tortured and murdered, sure, but he only did so for an end goal. He even only did so to people rather than solely animals because they produced more promising results. He certainly held no empathy for his victims, but if there was a more effective way to return to his home, he would have done it."

Bengt grabbed the bag covering his victim's head and yanked it off. Broom screamed when she saw that the man's mouth was devoid of a tongue and teeth, and one of his eyes had been gouged out, as well as numerous other scars that were scattered around his face.

"As for myself..." Bengt said as he trailed the tip of his knife along his plaything's cheek, making him whimper in fear of more pain. "I do this because it brings me joy. To see a body become misshapen and bloody, the most composed people cry in terror of what more I can do to them, is more entertaining than the greatest epic. If I was anything like Alexander, I would have killed him once he finally admitted what he intended to do to that little boy, or when he stopped producing the needed vitae."

"I-I see..." Broom said as she started to back out of the cell.

"I hope that alleviates your curiosity my darling Broom. You may go now."

"Okay, g-goodbye buddy! Enjoy your meal!" Broom yelled as she quickly darted out of the prison.

Bengt laughed as he began to muse to himself.

"Of course, that wasn't a very sound explanation. There's still a lot of loose threads and what ifs to account for... Of course, what's the fun in solving the mystery for her?"

* * *

"Is Piggeh back yet?! I need him right now!" Stephano yelled as he opened the door to the base, only to see that everyone was a bit... Occupied.

"Did you lose her?" Piggeh asked.

"I don't know! That's what scares me!" Mr. Chair said, in a genuine panic.

"Maybe we should refrain from going to town for a bit?" Jennifer suggested.

"Umm, what's going on?" Stephano asked, shutting the door behind him, which finally got everyone's attention.

"Oh, Green was being followed-" Piggeh started to say, but was cut off.

"Followed?! By who?" Stephano prayed the answer wasn't a barrel of some kind. They were in no position to evacuate, especially with a member of their group _missing_.

"I-It was some girl from Altstadt. I didn't notice she was tailing me until I was deep in the woods. I don't know what her intentions were, and what's worse is I don't know if I should be worried about the possibility of her getting hurt, or getting back to the town with any information about the castle!" Mr. Chair said, hyperventilating a little as Piggeh and Jennifer tried to calm him down.

Well if anything was worse than having to evacuate, it would be some angry mob charging to the castle to burn it down.

"I'm sure it'll be fine-" Stephano said, though he himself wasn't sure of that.

"Hey, where's Mayo?" Piggeh asked, and Mr. Chair's panic slowly went silent as he looked to Stephano with a wide eyed expression, almost like he was waiting to see if he needed to panic more or get angry.

"I-I don't know. I left him alone for a few minutes, and he vanished-"

 **"WHAT?!"** Mr. Chair screamed, angry it was then.

"I didn't mean for that! We were in a machine room and a door shut between us! I was just trying to make my way back to him!" Stephano quickly explained.

"I-If something happened to him I swear to god-" Mr. Chair's voice was as shaky as he was right now.

"It'll be okay, we're going to go find him." Jennifer reassured him, glancing over to Piggeh.

"Steph, go grab something from Mayo's room that I can use to track him. I need a minute." Piggeh said, to which Stephano nodded and entered Mayo's room.

He looked around, trying to find something with a strong enough scent for Piggeh to track, when he noticed something on the bed. A worn out and broken clown doll with curly blonde hair, dressed in red and yellow with a green star on it's cheek and one remaining bright blue eye.

"This should do." Stephano said picking it up, a little perplexed at how Mayo wasn't unsettled by such a doll, but knowing it wasn't important at the moment.

He left the room, seeing Piggeh and Mr. Chair sitting on the couch while Jennifer paced around.

"Do you feel better now?" Piggeh asked as Mr. Chair took a few deep breaths.

"Yeah, but not completely. We still need to hurry." Mr. Chair glanced over at Stephano who waved the doll around in his hand as he walked closer.

"I found this in his bed."

"Thanks Steph." Piggeh said taking the doll and smelling it. "Okay, I got it, let's go."

Everyone followed Piggeh as he led them out of the room.

 _"I hope Mayo's okay..."_ Stephano thought to himself, worried about what could have happened in the time he took to grab help.

* * *

"Why did you bring Mayo here if you knew the machines don't work right?" Mr. Chair asked as he stepped over a pipe on the floor.

"I figured he wanted to see it, and he did. It was nice until we got seperated." Stephano explained.

"Remind me to never leave him alone with you, something always happens." Mr. Chair said under his breath.

"Like him not being cooped up all the time?" Stephano griped.

"Stephano, that is an exaggeration and you know it. What was I supposed to do?! Bring him to town?-"

"I don't mean about today, but you've always had a problem with keeping him locked up-"

"Can you two shut up? Mayo wouldn't want us fighting while we're trying to find him." Jennifer snapped at the two men, who reluctantly ceased their arguing.

_"I wish we got along better, but I don't know where to start."_

Oh Stephano from a week ago in a dream, if only you knew how hard it really was to find a starting point. Truly, the idea of getting your shit together for the kid was nearly impossible.

As Stephano watched the for once quiet Piggeh lead them through a door, he recognized it as the one he and Mayo were trying to open. That's when he finally realized something.

"Wait, something's wrong."

Stephano's statement made everyone stop in their tracks and look back at him with confusion. Mr. Chair in particular thought that was a stupid thing to say.

"What do you mean something's wrong? Of course something's wrong-"

"What I mean is... We're all under the impression the Barrels took him again, right?" Stephano asked.

"Yeah, I guess?" Jennifer said.

"The Barrel base is that way." Stephano pointed in the direction they came from.

"But the scent is going this way." Piggeh said, very confused about what he was getting at.

"That's what I'm saying. Either the Barrels took him somewhere other than their base, and in which case we might want to be careful about the possibility of them purposely drawing us out. Or..."

"Someone completely different has him." Mr. Chair finished the train of thought.

"Exactly." Stephano said as he walked to the front of the group. "In that case, it's even worse. We don't know what they want with him or us. We need to be on our guard. I'll take the lead. Piggeh, just tell me what directions I need to go. I know it's going to be slower, but..."

_I don't want you to get hurt._

"If we stumble into some trap, I'd be better off than any of you."

Stephano glanced to the side and felt his blood run cold when he noticed a few small crates stacked against the wall, right under the hole used to feed pipes in-between the rooms that Mayo wanted to climb through. The realization dawned on him that someone might have been listening in from the start and was waiting for Mayo to be left alone before they made their attack.

"Alright, whatever you say Stephy. We just can't stand around any longer." Piggeh said, to which Stephano nodded. "Go straight, for once in your life."

Stephano glared at the pig before doing as he was told, leading the group straight through the new area.

* * *

"Steph, why did we stop?"

When the statue didn't respond Piggeh walked around him. He noticed that Stephano's shrunken gaze seemed to be set on a golden statuette of him on the floor. It was a tiny bit bigger than most of the Stephano statues and had a note tied around the blade.

Piggeh picked the paper up and rolled it open, seeing something written down. He couldn't make it out, not because it was written badly or even in a language he couldn't understand, he just only had one good eye, and "good" was a bit of an exaggeration.

"Can someone read what this says?" He asked holding it out, and Mr. Chair took it.

"I'm waiting for you, my love?"

"Stephanie..." Stephano suddenly said.

"How do you know this is from Stephanie?" Mr. Chair asked.

"Who else would leave us something that called one of us their love and leave out a statue of me?" Stephano said in an unimpressed way, but worry seeped in as he looked back to it. "She's trying to get me to come find her."

Stephano had no idea if Stephanie intended for him to run straight after her, go grab at least their personal blood hound Piggeh, or if at this point she was prepared for both, but it was undeniable what her goal was. 

Her biggest mistake, as always, was revealing herself as the culprit.

"If so, what now? What’s the plan?" Jennifer asked.

"I don’t want us all to go in at once, but I'm not going to send us all in different directions and get us killed... I want you three to continue on as normal. Rescue Mayo and get out as fast as possible." Stephano ordered.

"And what about you?" Mr. Chair asked.

"I will essentially run around and cause a diversion." Stephano said. "Stephanie's after me, so she might not pay attention to you if I'm not there."

"Are you gonna be okay? Because we don't need to get in even more trouble just because we didn't rush her." Jennifer stated bluntly.

"Rushing her would be a terrible idea. She's way too crafty to not know we could possibly just ambush her." Stephano said. "And don’t worry about me. Unlike the kid, I can get myself out of trouble just fine."

"Okay, just be careful Stephano." Piggeh said as he began leading the group again. 

"I will, and once again, be on your guard."

* * *

"I still think we should have just ran in. Stephanie's kinda a twig, we could probably get this done in seconds."

"I think Stephano was right though, Jen. Stephanie's tiny, but she's smart enough to make up for that." Mr. Chair said.

"Besides, just because Stephano stayed behind doesn't mean we can't just dogpile her. Three people is enough." Piggeh joked then looked to a door. "In here."

"Alright, lemme go in first." Jennifer said as she stepped in front of the men. She slowly opened the door a crack and peered in. "It's so dark in there..."

"Be _very_ careful when we go inside." Mr. Chair said, feeling nervous about the darkness.

Jennifer opened the door, looking around carefully as she slowly stepped inside. Nothing happened, she only saw the many statues of the golden asshole that Stephanie had made and cluttered the room with.

"Geez, how many statues of Stephano do you need?" Jennifer asked and took out a tinderbox, lighting up a torch near the door.

"No traps? No Stephanie?" Piggeh asked as he followed the rock inside.

"Guys?! Is that you?!"

"Yeah, we're coming!" Piggeh called out to what was undeniably Mayo's voice. He gestured to the other two who began to follow him through the room. The towering statues that surrounded them made the room feel like a maze. "God, this girl has a lot of free time-"

Finally, their now adjusted to the dark eyes saw Mayo sitting at the base of one of the statues. He had his wrists in the cuffs of chains that wrapped around the leg. He had a long piece of cloth tied around his head, obscuring his eyes.

"Mayo! Are you okay?!" Mr. Chair quickly ran over and started untying the blindfold. He was relieved to see that it wasn't for an injury.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Stephano-"

"Stephano had to stay behind, but don't worry, he's fine." Piggeh assured. "Where's Stephanie? It is way too quiet here."

"I'm not sure, I heard her leave a few minutes ago." Mayo said.

"Okay, so she's gone. But we probably don't have a lot of time before she gets back." Jennifer said and examined the chains. If they had been any of the old brittle stuff populating the castle, they probably could have just broke it with enough force, but looks like Stephanie had made these for some reason. They were brand new. "Shit... Why couldn't she have just used rope?"

"Stephanie works with acid right? Let's look around, her work station has to be around in here somewhere. Then we can just pour acid on these and free the kid." Piggeh suggested.

"You're going to pour acid? Near my hands?" Mayo asked with fear and a wide eyed expression.

"We'll be careful. Just follow our instructions when we get to that." Mr. Chair said, not fond of the idea either but knowing they didn't have a lot of time to find a better plan. "A key would be ideal, but I'm sure Stephanie took that with her."

"Alright, let's look for some acid!" Piggeh said and walked off to go look in one part of the room. Mr. Chair and Jennifer did the same.

As Jennifer climbed over the base of one of the statues, she noticed a small desk with a vat of acid next to it.

"I found it!" Jennifer called out.

"Great, grab some acid so we can get the hell out of here!" Piggeh called back from elsewhere in the room.

Jennifer began looking for a jar and hopefully some spare gloves to protect her hands, only seeing a rope and a square of the table devoid of dust so far, when she noticed something else on the desk. A key ring with a small key that looked to be made of the same metal as the chains.

"Is this the key?" Jennifer mumbled as she picked it up. "Why didn't Stephanie take it with her?"

As she turned around, she noticed something she hadn't before. The very large statue she had climbed over had an open small door in it. Walking closer, she noticed that there was a lot of oil on the hinges, and when she moved the door it barely made a sound. Inside the statue itself was a hole carved out, just big enough for someone to hide inside.

That's when she recalled that Mayo had a blindfold on and didn't see for sure if Stephanie actually left.

"Oh fuck- GUYS!! She didn't leave!!!" Jennifer yelled out as she began running back to where Mayo was.

"What?!" She heard Piggeh respond.

"We need to hurry and get-"

Jennifer was unable to finish her sentence as her foot caught onto something and she felt herself quickly tumble to the ground. Hissing in pain, she looked back and gasped when she saw what she tripped over. Lying on the ground was Mr. Chair.

"Mr. Chair?! Are you okay?!" She quickly checked his pulse. She was relieved that he wasn't dead, but he was out cold.

She then heard Piggeh scream and knew he had probably just joined Mr. Chair in dreamland.

"Fuck fuck fuck-"

Jennifer kept running until she saw Mayo, who had a face of major regret. Jennifer began to make her way over, getting the key ring out of her pocket quickly.

"Okay, once you get out you need to run, find Stephano, and-"

"JENNY, LOOK OUT!"

At Mayo's warning, Jennifer quickly turned around, ready to throw a punch at the teapot, but only saw a flash of green eyes and purple burns before she felt something _hard_ hit her forehead.

She could only hear Mayo start to sob and scream her name as she fell to the ground.

* * *

"Ah! Vous dirai-je maman, ce qui cause mon tourment? Papa veut que je raisonne comme une grande personne!"

Stephano sang to himself as he ran through the halls, hitting the wall a few times. He opened a door, and stepped inside the room.

"Moi je dis que les bonbons, valent mieux que la rais- ** _ON_** -" Stephano yelped as he felt himself forced to lose his footing. Next thing he knew, he was laying on his back in a net.

"A net... How wonderful." Stephano snarked. Technically since he still had his sword he could probably just cut himself out no problem, but if Stephanie had set this up, might as well just sit tight and wait for her to show up.

Sighing he leaned back and tried to relax in the net. A little hard as it seemed to want to force his knees to his chest. He began to hear someone walking down the hall.

 _'Ah, there she is.'_ Stephano thought and shut his eyes.

He heard someone walk by the door before stopping. He remained still. Maybe if she thought he was asleep she would do something creepy like put a hand on his face, and in which case he could grab her wrist and apprehend her.

He felt her walk closer, and prepared to make his attack. Yet, he was taken off guard by suddenly tumbling out of a cut in the net.

Stephano looked up, seeing someone who was certainly not Stephanie. Standing above him was a tall man in ragged clothing and black bandages. He looked down at him with murky green eyes and a scarred face. He had a greyed five o'clock shadow that matched the half shaved hair mostly covered by a torn up hood. He was brandishing claws that had replaced his fingers a lot time ago. "Bro?! What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, was my help unneeded? It looked like you were in a tight spot, and I just wished to offer my assistance." Bro responded, his voice as always was guttural and deep, with a near constant growl.

"Wait, my apologies-" Stephano said as he got up. "I'm just in a weird scenario where I wanted to be in the trap-"

"Why?"

"It's a really long story." Stephano then remembered something. "You have no enemy in Stephanie, correct?"

"The acid artist?" Bro asked, and Stephano nodded. "I wouldn't say we have no beef. I'm sure I pissed her off once by telling her that she's wasting her talents on what is essentially plagiarism."

"But you've gotten close enough to see her statues?" Stephano asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I need to find her. If you know where she is, could you take me to her?"

"I do know where Stephanie has set up her work, but what would be in it for me?" Bro asked, the little gestures he made with his clawed hand freaking Stephano out a little as she got flashbacks to being chased by a very angry Bro when he saw that one incident with Sammy Sue, but he kept his composure.

"Could we possibly discuss it later? I don't have anything particularly valuable on me, and I might need to move fast."

The fact that despite how loud he had been and even getting caught in a trap hadn't made Stephanie come running gave him a very off feeling.

"You know what, all I ask is a simple favor. I help you find Stephanie's room, and you just need to keep an eye out for someone."

"Okay, deal." Stephano said, about to hold out his hand for a good old shake, but retracted it when he remembered the claws. "Why don't you tell me more on the way?"

"Alright." Bro began leading Stephano back into the hall.

"So who am I to be on the lookout for?" Stephano asked.

"A woman. I didn't get her name, but she has long blonde hair and was wearing a blue dress."

"Was it Sammy or Broom?" Stephano asked.

"No, Sammy's hair is lighter, and she's taller than Broom. Plus, her hair was way longer than theirs' last time I checked."

That's where it got odd, he couldn't remember any other blonde women in the castle.

"And why are you looking for her?"

"Frankly, it's because I'm scared she's going to get herself hurt. I bet she just came into existence. She ran off before I could really speak to her."

New people just appearing wasn't odd for the castle, but it had declined severely over the years. The last new arrival he could recall was Torchy, all the way back in 1853 when Pewds was still around.

That's when he remembered what Mr. Chair was saying about a girl following him to the castle.

Did she get inside?

"Alright, if I see her, I'll let you know." Stephano said, his tone thankfully didn't give away that he knew more than he was letting on. He did not need to see this man panic because a village girl got inside Brennenburg right now.

"Now then, I heard you singing something. What were you saying?" Bro asked.

"Nothing I care to repeat." Stephano didn't necessarily wish to admit what he had been singing. "I was just acting like a fool to hopefully draw Stephanie out."

"I see."

The two remained silent for the rest of the walk, Stephano occasionally looking around for any signs of the mysterious woman. He had started to even zone out a bit when Bro finally stopped.

"Her room is just down this way. Second door on the right."

"Are you not going to join me?" Stephano asked.

"No, the deal was I help you find the room. I don't care to get involved in whatever this is any further."

"I suppose that's fair." Stephano said and began walking down the hall. "Good luck with finding that girl."

"Thank you. Hope whatever you're doing goes well." Bro said and waved with his clawed hand before he turned to leave the area.

"Would have been great to have you as backup though." Stephano mumbled and looked to the door. It was partly open and he could see a bit of torch light inside, but not much.

Perhaps he was worried over nothing and was just about to get himself into deeper trouble. Surely, the others are back home with Mayo as he stands there.

Still, perhaps it's better safe than sorry.

He swung the door open, and his heart dropped when he noticed Mayo further in the room chained to the leg of a statue. The boy also seemed to become stricken with fear when he saw Stephano enter the room.

"STEPHANO, NO! GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

"Mayo?!" Stephano immediately placed a hand on the hilt of his blade. "What are you still doing here-"

As Stephano caught a glance of the rest of his group tied up with rope in a corner, everyone unconscious except for Mr. Chair who was only now starting to wake up, he felt a sudden pain on the back of his head. Something dense and solid struck him, and he could feel his skull split open. He fell to his knees, gasping in pain and feeling like he was going to black out, but with a quick flash of red light on the floor it seemed Janus wasn't going to let him.

"I'm so sorry darling. I needed to be sure you couldn't hurt me!"

He looked up and saw Stephanie, brandishing a gold statue in her gloved hands.

"Oh dear, you're bleeding. I must have hit you a little harder than the others. Come on, I'll get you some laudanum-"

Stephanie leaned down to grab his arm, and as she did, Stephano promptly kicked her, sending her stumbling back with a shriek. He hastily got to his feet and bolted through the statues, thankful for his golden skin and attire making it easy for the sight of him to get lost in the dark among them.

"STEPHANO!!!" Stephanie shouted angrily as she ripped the torch off the wall and began searching for him.

"My head..." Jennifer said as she started to come to.

"Jenny, are you okay?" Mr. Chair asked.

"My forehead hurts like hell." Jennifer complained then realized she was tied up. "Oh shit-"

"Piggeh, wake up!" Mr. Chair said, slamming into the sleeping pig with his entire body.

"H-Huh?" Piggeh was quickly jolted awake by the chair, then he saw the predicament the three of them were in. "Damn, she got all of us didn't she?"

"Not yet, Stephano just got here and she drew blood but he's not out yet."

Meanwhile, Stephano ducked behind a statue as Stephanie walked by, once she got out of sight he slid down, biting into his sleeve as he nearly made another noise of pain.

He reached under his hood and felt the back of his head, wincing before he pulled his hand back out, seeing blood on his fingertips.

'Stephano, let me take it from here.'

"No, I don't need your help." Stephano muttered, looking behind him for a sign of Stephanie.

_'I don't think you have much of a choice here. Allow me to spell it out for you. Your head has a crack in it. If it wasn't for me interfering when I did, you would be apprehended with the others.'_

Stephano grumbled as he realized that yeah, he was fucked.

_'I could simply just heal your wound and let you get back to it, but to elaborate further, every time you meet with Stephanie someone gets hurt. You need me to finish this once and for all.'_

Sighing, Stephano leaned back and simply said. "Do what you must."

Stephano soon found himself entering a hypnotic state. He felt his skull begin to mend itself back together, and his skin and clothes blackened until he couldn't even see himself in the darkness.

Janus chuckled as he stood up _,_ he looked around for Stephanie's torchlight and called out. "Oh Stephanie, l'amour de ma vie! I overreacted! May we talk?"

"What is he doing?" Mr. Chair whispered.

"What, really?!" Stephanie said excitedly as she turned to find her love, only for her heart to sink when she saw red light reflected on the statues. "You!!"

"Oh, how unfortunate." Janus laughed. "It seems I've been discovered."

"Is that... Janus?" Jennifer asked, and Mr. Chair nodded.

"Get out of him! I won't stand you tormenting him! You're the reason he wanted to leave me!"

"Oh? I thought he broke up with you because he never loved you in the first place. Perhaps I am mistaken, what is your perspective?" Janus taunted.

"You're lying! He... He wanted to break up because he was scared you would hurt me again! But I've been telling him for years that I don't care!" Stephanie said as her delusions enveloped her reasoning. She put out her torch and tossed it aside, pulling a decorative knife from her boot. "I don't care how many burns or scars you give me! They are the symbol of my love for him! I will protect Stephano! I will do what I can to rid him of any god that tries to use him like a puppet!"

As Stephanie said this, Janus did something he hadn't done since the others learned of his existence. He laughed a hysterical bellowing laugh. He had chuckled before, but this was the first time he was so _amused_.

"Oh Stephanie, you never fail to entertain!" Janus said, unable to contain his laughter. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. First of all, I _don't_ want to be in this inferior body. If I could leave I would, but I am tethered to him. I doubt a lovesick lunatic would have the answer to solving that."

Stephanie held the knife out in front of her as Janus came into view, walking behind a few more statues. He seemed to almost be circling her like sharks around a sinking boat in the middle of the ocean.

"You are correct about one thing however. You are right that there is a God of Brennenburg. You believe that it is me. That I gave life to all of you unfortunate souls and simply hid inside Stephano. Sadly, that is where your theory falls apart."

Janus then unsheathed his sword and bolted to Stephanie, who could only yell "STAY BACK!" as she rushed to stab him. Janus however simply grabbed her wrist. Stephanie then heaved in pain as Janus plunged his sword through her stomach. The other Bros could only watch in terror as the ebony colored blade burst through her back, covered in blood that trickled to the ground.

"I am _not_ the God of Brennenburg."

Finally, his eyes once again turned their regular gold, and soon expressed terror. As he became completely gold once more, Stephano pulled his sword out of the girl, nearly choking on his own breath as he watched her slump to the ground. She was now devoid of any life. He had killed her...

"No, no no no no..."

_'What did you expect me to do? I said I would finish this once and for all. Look on the bright side, now she can't harm you or your loved ones again...'_

"No no no!" Stephano fell to his knees, his whole body shaking as his hands grasped at his head. Tears welled up and he felt like the room around him was spinning. "I didn't want this! I didn't want to kill her!!"

"S-Stephano?" Mayo's voice broke through the panic and Stephano glanced over. Seeing the boy looking to him with worry.

"I-I'm sorry..." Stephano apologized, taking the key from Stephanie's body and walking over to the boy. He knelt down and unlocked the chains, and watched as Mayo rubbed his wrists once they were free. "Go untie the others for me."

Mayo nodded and ran over to the other three, making quick work of the ropes that bound them.

"Oh my fucking shit did that just happen?!" Piggeh exclaimed, still processing what he had just witnessed.

"What did Janus just say?" Jennifer asked as she stood up, looking to Stephano who picked up Stephanie's body.

"He said that the God of Brennenburg is real..." Mr. Chair said in absolute shock.

"But that begs the question, if fucking Janus isn't it, who... Or what... Is?" Piggeh asked.

"I'm not sure..." Stephano said and looked back to the others. "Let's get out of here, I don't want to be in this room another minute."

Following Stephano, everyone left the room.

"What now?" Mayo piped up.

"You can all go home. I'm going to find somewhere to bury Stephanie." Stephano could never forgive Stephanie for what she had done, but he couldn't just leave her to rot in that room. "Tomorrow, we need to see Martin. If anyone has more information on this... God of Brennenburg... It's him."

"Should we really get him involved?" Jennifer asked.

"I think we have to. If the god exists, then this involves everyone. Might as well see what the man who has tabs on everyone knows."

"I see... We'll see you back at the base." Mr. Chair said, placing a hand on Stephano's shoulder.

"I'll see you then." Stephano replied as he began walking away.

Mr. Chair looked to Piggeh, who was looking in Stephanie's statue room. "Piggeh, come on."

"Alright." Piggeh turned back to the others and began walking back to the base with them.

"Oh my gosh, there's so much to unpack from that!" Jennifer said. "What did she say about the burns and scars?"

"I... I don't remember-" Mr. Chair said with a very uncomfortable laugh. "We may have to ask for a refresher later..."

* * *

"Stephanie, can we talk for a moment?"

Stephanie was pulled out of her focus when she heard Stephano's voice. Giggling, she set down the knife she was etching into and looked to her boyfriend.

"What do you need?"

"Stephanie, I... This is kind of hard to say..." Stephano said, and Stephanie could tell instantly that something was off.

"Is everything alright?" Stephanie removed her gloves and stood up, moving so she was next to him.

"I... I want to break up."

"You want to take another break? I-I guess I don't mind another quick one, but I can't just keep letting you-"

"No, I want to break up for good this time."

Stephanie's eyes widened as he said this. Weren't they happy together? She was doing so well, wasn't she? Why did he want to end things?

"Why? Am I doing something wrong?" Stephanie asked. "I can do better."

"It's not that. I just... I don't think we're good together." Stephano had no idea how to say all of this easily.

"Is... I-Is this about that Jennifer girl?"

"No! I'm not interested in her." Stephano deflected, and he seemed to be telling the truth.

"Then... Is it Pewdie?"

Stephano hesitated.

"No, it's not him-"

"It is! I knew it!" Stephanie said as she recalled all of the moments Stephano seemed a little too happy to spend time with this Pewds guy.

"It's not-"

"I can try to be more like him if that makes you happy! Just please don't leave me for him-"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU FOR HIM! I JUST DON'T WANT TO BE WITH YOU!" Stephano shouted, causing Stephanie to back up a bit. "Stephanie... It's hard to say, but I don't... I don't love you, and I know I never will. I don't want to string you along."

Stephano sighed and mumbled another apology as he began to walk to the door, but stopped when he felt Stephanie grab the back of his shirt and turn him around.

"Stephano, please stay. We can fix whatever's wrong. I love you so much, I don't want to just give up."

"Stephanie, there's nothing to fix. Just let it go." Stephano said and tried to turn again but Stephanie grabbed hold of his arms. "Stephanie, let me go!"

"Stephano, I will do anything for you, but I won't let you leave me." Stephanie said and in attempt to calm him placed a hand on his cheek. But as her hand brushed against his hair, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

 **"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"** Stephano's eyes became a bright glowing red as he suddenly pushed her away from him. Stephanie fell back with a scream. That's when Stephano, or whatever he was now, caught sight of the tray of acid sitting on the desk.

"Perhaps this will get the message across."

Before Stephanie could stop him, he grabbed the tray and threw it's contents onto her as she was getting up. Stephanie only had time to use her arm to shield herself as the acid splashed onto her, burning her hand and one side of her face. She screamed in pain, and that's when Stephano managed to regain control, dropping the tray.

"Oh my god... I'm so sorry!" Stephano yelled as he ran to the door. "I'm going to get help! Stay right there!"

Stephano darted out the door, and Stephanie watched as he ran out of sight. As she was left alone, she began to murmur to herself.

"I understand now... The god... Has taken your body... I'll save you, then you'll be mine again, I promise you that."


	10. Due to the Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Mentions of death/torture/violence towards children/underage sex/termites

_"You know, something about your eyes makes me think we've met."_

_"We haven't but... Thank you, I guess?"_

_"Ah, sorry. I don't know why I said that."_

_"Have we met? You seem familiar."_

_"I don't think so, I'm sure I'd remember you. Or is that a line you use on every girl you meet?"_

_"If it works, I might consider it."_

_"Who are you? Why are you appearing to me all of a sudden?"_

_"I don't know... The answer lies behind the door..."_

_"You don't think we all had lives before the castle... Do you?"_

* * *

Stephano took a step back and dropped the shovel. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he gazed down at the shallow grave he had just made. He looked to Stephanie, propped against the angel statue that took residence in the courtyard.

"I'm sorry Stephanie." Stephano muttered as he gently scooped her body into his arms. "I really didn't want things to end this way."

Stephano made his way back to the grave, and gently lowered Stephanie in. As he laid her into her final resting place, he realized he had never truly had a moment to take in the burns that covered her face. He felt sick to his stomach, remembering it was because of him.

Truthfully, he hated he felt so remorseful for her death, especially after what she had done. Yet, he still couldn't escape the guilt and shame that plagued him as he looked upon her corpse.

He stood and made his way to one of the many rose bushes that surrounded them. Unsheathing his blade, he cut one of the many pink flowers free from the thicket. Carefully, he took Stephanie's hand and laid the rose on her chest, putting her hand back down to hold the stem in place.

He couldn't help but feel amused in a weird way, knowing Stephanie would have much preferred being given a rose while she was still alive.

Taking hold of the shovel once more, he finally began to fill in the hole, watching as dirt hid her visage more and more as he went on.

"I need to get some rest." Stephano muttered to himself as he finished. He turned and began to walk back to the doors of the castle that was both home and prison, but before he could enter, he saw something that caught his attention.

Gravestones hidden among the shrubbery.

Coming closer, he examined each grave, seeing names he knew, and names that did not spark any sort of memory. Finally, he came across two that were all too familiar.

**Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa**

**1486-1855**

_Scholar and Friend_

_A guiding light that will surely be missed_

"I wonder if you would be able to answer the questions we've all gathered..." Stephano muttered, then finally looked to the other.

**Mayo Chair**

**1844-1853**

_Beloved Brother_

_Gone Too Soon_

"I forgot... We had to bury Mayo before Agrippa..."

He saw many small offerings left for the deceased in front of the graves. Flowers, coins, Jesus and Sven had even made a few carvings to leave.

Picking up the one on Mayo's grave, he saw it was of an angel with a bouquet in her hands, her visage eaten away by termites over the years.

Normally Stephano was not one to take things from graveyards, but technically this was for someone who was not truly dead. Quickly shaking it and brushing his hand over it to rid it of any remaining bugs, he pocketed the offering. Before leaving, he took his blade once again and scratched at Mayo's gravestone.

**Mayo Chair**

**1844- ~~1853~~**

* * *

"Piggeh, I don’t know how to explain to you that being a horny swine doesn’t make you the most mature person in our group."

"Look, all I’m saying is that you, Jen, and Mr. Chair aren't nearly as active-" Piggeh interrupted himself to look back at the rock and chair. "Unless you wanna update me on anything?"

"No, we're good." Jennifer answered.

"And Mayo... Too young. Wait like one more year at least." 

" _ **One**_ more year?" Mr. Chair asked.

"I’d be a hypocrite if I said otherwise! I'm not his parent anyway." Piggeh said. "Point is, compared to you guys I have a lot of experience."

"First, we could all be having a lot of sex and you’d still be more experienced in that regard. But second, that doesn’t mean anything substantial." Stephano said annoyed.

"You say that, but besides Mayo, I think I’m the only person who hasn’t gotten in a physical fight over Pewdie.”

"You know, your argument would be a lot stronger if _that_ was the argument."

"He’s wrong actually, I have vivid memories of Mayo biting me." Mr. Chair joked.

"HA-"

"Okay, can we change the subject?" Mayo asked.

"Yes, thank god." Stephano stated, then as he looked to Mr. Chair he remembered something. "Hey Chair, may I ask an odd question?"

"More odd than that?" Mr. Chair responded.

"Not really. It’s about the woman you encountered yesterday. What did she look like?"

"Umm... She had really long blonde hair, and was wearing a blue dress. I didn’t notice much else."

The same description Bro gave of the girl he saw. There was no doubt about it now, they’re one and the same, and she got into the castle.

"Why do you ask? Did something happen?" Mr. Chair asked nervously.

"No, no. I was just curious. Besides, if Jennifer needs to go to town anytime soon it’d be good for her to know who to keep an eye out for."

He was lying, but Stephano didn’t feel like he had much of a choice. There was already so much to worry about, he needed to handle the situation with the girl discreetly, especially if he had to make a tougher decision.

Admittedly, Stephano was getting pretty sick of mysterious women with no known names. If he saw one more he was probably going to lose it.

"What are you guys talking about?" Mayo asked.

Oh right, he wasn't there for that was he?

"It's a bit of a long story. Nothing to worry about."

"We’re here." Jennifer said and stepped in front of the group, opening the door to the library.

Immediately stepping inside, they saw Torchy laying a sleeping Martin back in his chair.

"If you came to speak to Martin, I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait." Torchy said and looked to the visitors. "Martin just finished one of his body hopping experiments and now he’s out cold. I don’t know when he'll wake up."

"Are you kidding me?" Stephano muttered. If he remembered how long he was out when he reverted to statue form correctly, Martin might be unconscious for a good few _hours_.

"Would it be intrusive for us to wait here until he’s up?" Jennifer asked.

"You should be fine. Feel free to stay." Torchy said.

Stephano could tell Mayo was itching to get some one on one time with his friend, but he knew he had to take care of something first.

"Torchy, may I speak to you for a moment in private?" Stephano asked. Immediately everyone in the group gave him suspicious looks, but he figured it was best to just act natural and keep going. Perhaps he could write it off as a private thing involving Stephanie later.

"Oh, sure."

Torchy led Stephano elsewhere in the library, Stephano occasionally looking over his shoulder as he did to be sure no one was following to eavesdrop.

"So, what do you need?"

"I need you to stay calm, but I have reason to believe someone from Altstadt has gotten into the castle."

"What?"

"Mr. Chair told me that he saw someone following him on his way back after a trip to town, and Bro reported seeing someone new around inside. They both described her the same way. Long dark blonde hair and a blue dress. It's not much to go off, but I want you to keep an eye out for her if she's still inside." Stephano explained, being sure to keep his tone in a hush.

"That's not good. I'll do my best to see if I can find her, but you're definitely right about that not being much to go off, especially if she changes her outfit."

"I know. One more thing, I don't want this to get out to the rest of the castle. Mr. Chair doesn't know she got inside, and Bro didn't even know this girl was from outside. If you find out where she is, alert me directly, and I'll figure out what to do."

"Stephano, I can try, but ultimately I'll have to inform Martin about this, and if he feels it's best to warn everyone, I'll have to listen." Torchy informed the statue bluntly. "So, I reccomend telling your own group in case they find out the hard way that you were keeping this from them. Especially since you apparently trust a teenager with this information more than a grown man."

"Well, it's just-"

"It's fine, I don't need to hear it. Now come on. I'm sure that wasn't all you came for." Torchy said and began walking back to the main area of the library, Stephano following.

"So what was that about?" Jennifer asked.

"It was just something I got reminded of yesterday. Nothing important." Stephano said and looked back to Mayo.

Speaking of...

"Mayo, I need one more thing then I'll let you and Torchy go."

"What is it?" Mayo asked, a little annoyed but staying polite.

That's when Stephano fished the small wooden statuette out of his pocket and held it out.

"I found this while I was out yesterday. I think Sven or Jesus left it for you. It's probably not the most comforting item, and it's seen better days..."

"Oh, thank you." Mayo said, taking the small angel and examining it.

"You're welcome. I'll leave you be now." Stephano said chuckling a little, watching as the boys walked off, Torchy asking to take a look at the carving as they disappeared behind some bookshelves.

"So, what were you really talking to Torchy about?" Mr. Chair asked.

"Okay, fine I'll be honest."

Or... Half honest anyway.

"I was a little worried about the girl who followed you to the castle. I just asked Torchy to keep an eye out for her in case she did find the castle." Stephano said, before deciding to give a little white lie. "I don't think she did, I just want to be sure."

_"This doesn't seem like a very good idea."_

Janus, you don’t get to judge Stephano's morals.

"Stephano, you better not be keeping anything from us, because it's weird for you to hide just simple paranoia." Mr. Chair said.

"I promise I'm not."

They already had a lot to deal with, Stephano could keep that little bit of information from them.

"Let's be real here though, if she really did find the castle, it might be too late to do anything about it." Piggeh spoke up.

"Why do you say that?" Stephano asked.

"Because it's already been a full day since. Do you think she'd _still_ be inside Brennenburg?"

"I suppose she wouldn't..."

He really hoped that wasn't the case.

* * *

"Martin, are you alright?"

As he came to, Martin opened his eyes to see Jennifer standing before him.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Martin said groaning a bit as he sat up, stretching a bit as he looked around the room. "I apologize, how long have you been waiting here?"

"About an hour." Stephano said.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know I would be having guests." Martin stood up, only to stumble a little, Jennifer hurriedly catching him. "Oh, thank you dear."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Piggeh asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay now." Martin said, smoothing out his coat. "Now, what do you need?"

"A lot. We had a very eventful day yesterday." Mr. Chair said exasperated.

"Oh? What happened?"

"Well, first of all... Stephanie is dead. She attacked our group, and... Janus took over and dealt with the situation." Stephano said, a little hesitantly. "I've already buried her in the courtyard."

"I see... It couldn't have been easy..." Martin said, grabbing a quill and making his way to the bookshelf where he kept the records.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that's why you guys were here. If something like this happens again please tell me and I can update the records for Martin." Torchy said.

"Bold of you to assume I'd let you touch my very flammable books when I'm not awake to see it." Martin muttered as he updated Stephanie's page in the book.

"Well, regardless... We're here for more than just that. This was something we really needed Martin for because if anyone has knowledge on it, it's him." Stephano continued, and if Martin's interest wasn't piqued before, it was now.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Martin asked as he stored the book away, turning fully to the group.

"We have some information regarding the God of Brennenburg." Piggeh butt in, and Martin's sea green eyes went wide.

"The God of Brennenburg?! How? What do you mean?" Martin asked, already scanning his bookshelf to see what sort of journal he needed to grab next.

"What's the God of Brennenburg?" Torchy asked before someone could start explaining.

"You've never heard of it?" Piggeh asked, and Torchy shook his head. "Do you Mayo? Or is it some adult thing?"

"I've heard the Barrels talk about it a bit in their spare time, Gonzales was really fascinated by it, but yeah, someone else could probably explain it better than me." Mayo said, looking to the others to continue from there.

"The God of Brennenburg is a theory that the creation of everyone in the castle wasn't a random occurrence, but rather some being brought us to life." Stephano explained. "Most people don't believe The God is an actual god, the candidates I've heard tossed around before now were The Shadow, Alexander, Daniel... I'm forgetting someone..."

"I've heard Agrippa's old apprentice, Johann Weyer, being mentioned as possibly being the god." Martin cut in.

"Thank you Martin. In any case, The God isn't so much thought of as a literal deity as they might be anyone or anything. They are simply called The God of Brennenburg because they had enough power to play god." Stephano finished and sighed. "I didn't use to believe in it, I thought it was silly superstition, but I've changed my mind..."

"And what led to that?" Torchy asked.

"You see, it's a bit of a long and complicated story on how we got to it, but... Yesterday during our encounter with Stephanie, Janus revealed that the God of Brennenburg is real, and that it's not him."

"That's a revolutionary development, but can we be certain Janus is a verifiable source? Would he have reason to lie about this?" Martin inquired, and Stephano thought for a second.

"Janus, can I be sure you were telling the truth?" He murmured.

_"Not really, but I don't have much reason to make any of that up."_

How helpful.

"I think he is, at least on this." Stephano answered.

"Very well, then we'll move forward on that assumption." Martin said, grabbing a piece of paper from between some books. "You came to see me because you want more information on the God?"

"Yeah, we need to see if there's anything we should know about." Jennifer said.

"Well admittedly, I don't _know_ much more than anyone else. The concept of the God is vague and I had no way to prove their existence before just now." Martin replied. "However, I have some observations and a theory if you wouldn't mind me sharing those."

"Anything would help." Piggeh said.

"Well, Stephano's explanation was accurate for the most part, but I think saying that The God _created_ us may not be entirely right."

"How so?" Stephano asked.

"Well, haven't you ever thought it was weird that a good portion of people who live in this castle are people who have knowingly died? Like myself and Piggeh. Yet everyone else just popped out of nowhere? Then there's the fact a majority of the castle's residents are household items, and we're all able to retreat into our object bodies and even move between them."

"So do you think there's some kind of reincarnation situation going on?" Jennifer asked.

"Not quite. A reincarnation would imply our lives in Brennenburg were a completely new start, and everyone's ages are too random for that to be the case. Plus we also have to keep in mind that some people showed up years later like yourself and Torchy." Martin said. "It's more like everyone just picked up where they left off originally, sans their memories. I think the simplest explanation is the most likely. Everyone, regardless of what they ended up possessing, died and came back to life in the castle walls."

"Do you really think that's the case?" Mr. Chair asked, not really in disbelief, but more for affirmation to this huge claim.

"I can't be sure, but I think it's the most likely probability. I mean, it would also certainly explain why only a select few people were brought back from the dead." Martin then finally laid the paper he was holding on the table, allowing everyone to see it's contents. A list of twelve names, some full, some incomplete.

"These are the names of Alexander's victims that I was able to find over the years. It's not much admittedly, the Baron never really cared to document his subjects' identities. You may of course recognize some names on here-"

"Give me like a minute to make out the words." Piggeh said, earning a laugh from Mayo.

"While we're waiting..." Martin chuckled. "I'm sure everyone else recognizes a few of the names and who they belong to, but the rest of the names are definitely a mystery, what happened to them? I think they were brought back, but they just don't remember who they are."

"If this theory is correct, wouldn't that mean most of the victims were kids, considering everyone's current ages? Didn't Daniel think he was torturing criminals? Even he would catch on I think if he was mainly cutting up kids." Mayo said.

"Well there were a lot more adults back in the early days of Brennenburg. However, not all of them made it to today due to our dangerous environment, not to mention how many of them tried escaping and never came back. Second, several people were in their teens, and with Alexander being as manipulative as he was and Daniel being desperate, it would have been fairly easy to convince him that some of the victims were older than they actually were, and Alexander probably handled the very obviously young ones away from Daniel's sight." Martin said. "And besides those guesses, I actually have two reasons why it's guaranteed some of the victims were children."

"What are those?" Jennifer asked.

"The Servant Grunts' intended purpose was actually not to roam the halls like they do now, but to go out and capture whatever they could. They could often grab animals like cats and dogs, but another easy target would have been small children. Then, we have an anecdote." Martin then pointed to a name on the list, Haru. "When I was getting Skully's full name for this list, he told me about a very young child who resided in the cell next to his. The boy had already been given an Amnesia potion so he could only remember part of his name, hence why it's all we have. Haru only spent a few days in the cell as it didn't take long for the torture sessions to kill him, being as young as he was. Skully's best guess was that he was five or six."

"Poor thing..." Jennifer said.

"What does this all have to do with the God of Brennenburg?" Piggeh asked.

"Well, a whole castle's worth of people coming back from the dead can't just happen on it's own. Something phenomenal would have needed to happen. The God of Brennenburg fits neatly into that spot."

"So your theory is that The God of Brennenburg brought back a bunch of Alexander and Daniel's victims from the dead?" Stephano asked.

"Precisely. Now of course, this whole theory is moot without evidence that anyone besides the corpses did actually die once. For this list I had to consult people who obviously remembered their old lives, and while I've told Torchy about this theory before, he's only 17 so he wouldn't be able to help." Martin then pointed to Stephano and Mr. Chair. "That's where you two come in."

"Us?" Mr. Chair asked.

"Yes. It's likely you were both in Altstadt. Have either of you met someone that you recognize from somewhere, but you've never met before then? If you do, that means that my theory may have some merit."

_"You know, something about your eyes makes me think we've met."_

_"Have we met? You seem familiar."_

_"Who are you? Why are you appearing to me all of a sudden?"_

"I can't recall anything." Mr. Chair said. "I'm sorry."

"I have." Stephano replied, getting Martin's attention. "I've met several people I feel like I'd seen before but we couldn't think of any kind of first meeting. There's even something that might prove it a little more."

"And that is?" Martin asked.

"I've been having dreams about a pale woman in white with long brown hair. Even when I'm awake, I swear I know her but I've never seen her inside the castle walls."

"That's big, but... Don't take this the wrong way, with this and Janus, are we sure you're not just suffering from something?"

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if I've just lost my mind!" Stephano exclaimed. "But I'm sure this isn't just madness. The others can back me up on this, insanity doesn't make your eyes glow red when your second personality takes over."

"Yeah, this is supernatural Martin." Piggeh said.

"Alright, that's good." Martin said. "Then in that case, the fact you can remember someone you haven't even encountered in the castle is extraordinary, especially for someone who isn't possessing their old corpse! That kind of thing is so rare!"

Martin then walked away, shouting that he needed to grab some fresh paper and ink to document this.

"So, we're all dead?" Mr. Chair asked disconcerted.

"It seems so." Stephano said, understanding Mr. Chair's emotional state very well.

"And here I was thinking I was the only dead person in the group." Piggeh said.

"Not very funny Piggeh." Jennifer muttered.

"I'm sorry-"

"Okay Stephano, I'm going to need you to give me as much information on this dream woman as possible. First of all, how long has this been happening?"

"A week."

As Stephano said this Martin looked to him annoyed.

"Wait a minute, last week was when you told me about Janus. Why didn't you mention her back then too?"

"I didn't think about it, didn't seem important-"

"You could have also mentioned her at the beginning of this meeting!" Martin said even more annoyed. "I could have spared you that long ramble and gotten to the point faster! For all we know she's the God of Brennenburg!"

"It's fine Martin, the more information the better, eh?" Piggeh asked, patting his back.

"Not when you withhold it." Martin muttered before writing something down. "You mentioned she was pale, had long brown hair, and wore white?"

"Yes. When I told Jennifer, she asked if I've been seeing a prostitute in my dreams. If that gives you a better idea of her appearance?"

"Odd..." Martin said with a raised eyebrow but proceeded to write down more anyway. "What else have you noticed?"

"She's usually surrounded by Stephanotis flowers and has them tangled in her hair. Oh and her name is Fleur."

"When did you learn her name?!" Piggeh asked.

"Back when we had to stay at the Filthy Pig."

"Maybe we should booze you up more often, you got way more info from that."

"No thank you." Stephano muttered then looked back to Martin. "I can't think of anything else to mention."

"Alright, that should do for now."

"Hey, your last name is Fischer?" Mayo asked, looking at the list Martin left on the table.

"Ah no, that's the other Martin."

"Other Martin?"

Stephano let his gaze drift down to the list, really reading it this time.

_Susanna Samuelsson_

_Sven Bergström_

_Martin Fischer_

_Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa_

_Lucian Scully_

_Haru_

_Bruno Freud_

_Perrine_

_Agathe_

_Margarethe_

_Elise_

_Caroline_

A few seconds after reading Stephano's eyes drifted back up to a name that stuck out to him.

**_Perrine_ **

That name was mentioned during his dream at The Filthy Pig too!

"Yeah, there used to be this other guy named Martin running around the castle. He disappeared before Pewds started showing up." Piggeh said.

"What happened to him?"

"No one knows. Kinda spooky huh?"

If it's the same Perrine, she would know about Fleur, at least subconsciously. All he had to do was find out who and where she was.

Perhaps Martin could locate her.

"So where is Martin's name then?"

"It's not on there, I wasn't tortured."

As Stephano was about to speak up and ask Martin about her, he noticed that Mr. Chair looked shocked, and angry. That's when he realized what had just happened.

Mr. Chair had caught Martin in a lie.

"Well anyway, I think we've covered everything we need to." Stephano said and began walking to the door. "We'll take our leave now."

"Oh okay, thank you for the visit. That was more information than I've gotten in years." Martin said chuckling. "Take care."

"We will!" Piggeh said, following Stephano.

"Hey Martin, before we go can I add a name I know to your list?" Mayo asked.

"Uhh, sure." Martin said, handing Mayo his quill and scooting the paper closer.

Mayo quickly scribbled the name onto the list then went to go catch up to the others.

As they left Martin looked to the bottom of the list, seeing in messy handwriting a new name written.

_814_

* * *

"Oh no, I'm being attacked!" Piggeh laughed as Mayo hoisted himself onto his back, the pig jumping around a bit once he was stable, making the teen scream with laughter.

"Keep it down you two." Stephano rolled his eyes, chuckling.

"Hey Mayo, you cool with me tossing you on the couch?" Piggeh asked.

"Yeah!!"

"Please don't throw my brother!" Mr. Chair said quickly.

"Ugh, you're no fun."

"Hey guys, did we use any laudanum yesterday?" Jennifer asked, interrupting the Mayo tossing debacle.

"I don't remember, I don't think we did." Piggeh said, gently letting Mayo down on the ground much to his disappointment.

"Yeah, I think Stephanie just gave us some of hers when she knocked us out." Mr. Chair said, relieved that Mayo had not been thrown.

"I definitely did not use laudanum, Janus healed the crack in my head." Stephano said nonchalantly, much to everyone's unease.

"Then we have a problem..."

"Why?" Mr. Chair asked.

"We haven't had to use laudanum for awhile now, but we're almost out." Jennifer said.

"Didn't we get more recently?" Stephano walked over, seeing for himself they only had a couple of bottles left.

"Is someone taking the laudanum?"


	11. Zombie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Animal death, mentions of drug usage, self harm, sexual jokes, lots of sexual jokes please beware, ways that are not the most professional method of dealing with things

A squeal of pain, the fourth one.

The pig looked around frantically for some kind of escape, but could see none. He couldn't even chew through anything as his snout was tied shut tight with rope.

The only escape route was the door that would open when that human came to retrieve him just like his mama and brothers. He knew he was next as he was the last one left.

He told his papa and sister he would come home, he had to find a way out.

As the door opened, he made a run for it, charging as fast as he could. Yet he wasn't fast enough, the man grabbed him and hoisted him up. He knew he had gotten pretty heavy despite not being full grown, so he tried to struggle, and the old human was struggling to keep a tight grip, but... He stopped.

When he saw what had become of his drove he couldn't help but freeze. Cut up and bloody, they laid motionless on the floor. He made eye contact with what used to be his mother, bright blue eyes still open and staring lifelessly back at him.

He came back to his senses when he was laid onto a cold metallic table. He tried to run, but the man grabbed him and tied him down. The pig began to grind his teeth as he looked up, his eyes meeting his soon to be killer's. They were mismatched, one a dull blue and the other a bright gold. He saw his own eyes reflected in his, and how thin his slit pupils had become as he looked to the man with rage.

"Hm... What interesting eyes you have." The man mused.

He grabbed a knife, and soon a fifth squeal of agony could be heard inside the castle.

* * *

"Stephano why are you looking in my room?!" Mr. Chair yelled as he followed Stephano.

"Are you trying to get back on drugs?! Did you take the laudanum?!" Stephano shouted as he ransacked the room.

"You can't just go through my things!" Mr. Chair shouted, making the pig and table wince as they watched from the living area.

"Oh yeah?! Watch me!" Stephano shouted back, pulling out drawers. "And why do you not want me looking through here so bad?!"

"You know what?!" Mr. Chair marched over to Stephano's door, swinging it open. "Two can play at this game!"

Stephano poked his head out of Mr. Chair's room just in time to see him entering.

"Why would _**I**_ be taking it?!" Stephano yelled as he went back to searching through the chair's room.

"I dunno, maybe you're trying really hard to avoid Janus healing every little scrape?!"

"Jokes on you! My laudanum intake has decreased to almost nothing since you learned about him! I don't steal supplies anymore!"

"ANYMORE?!"

 **"Okay, both of you get out of there before you destroy each other's belongings!!!"** Jennifer shouted, and the commotion promptly ceased as both men stepped out.

Mr. Chair held a long wooden item in a _certain_ shape within his hands, which he held towards Stephano.

"What is this?"

Stephano promptly grabbed it and threw it back into his room, quickly shutting the door with a bright orange face.

"Kinky." Piggeh chuckled.

"Shut up pig." Stephano muttered.

"Frankly, I don't care who took it right now. Especially if they're not willing to come forward." Jennifer was clearly very angry and disappointed with everyone. "What matters to me is we're dangerously low and with how much we've been getting hurt lately, that's not something I want to risk being low on."

Jennifer then grabbed a small glass bottle with only a few green drops in it.

"Piggeh, could I ask you to track some more for us? Like- Right now?"

"Sure, but I don't wanna go alone." Piggeh said, and looked to the rest of the group before speaking in his jokingly suave voice. "Any volunteers~?"

Normally, Stephano would not volunteer. However, he did not want to risk staying behind and having to explain to Mr. Chair, Jennifer, or god forbid Mayo, about the time when he was dating Jesus, and the carpenter had carved that for him like something out of a Dionysian myth.

"I'll go!" Stephano hurriedly said and rushed to Piggeh's side.

"Wow, didn't think you would Steph." Piggeh laughed. "Did our little adventure together make you a little more fond of me?"

"Don't push it Piggeh" Stephano said.

"Alright, well enjoy your outing you two!" Jennifer said, rubbing her forehead. "And do not come back until you have at least five bottles."

"We'll be back with plenty babe!" Piggeh announced as he walked to the door, Stephano sighing and following him out.

Mayo waited a few seconds before looking up at Mr. Chair.

"Are you still going to look through Stephano's room?"

"Of course I am."

* * *

"Hey Piggeh, have you ever heard of anyone named Perrine around the castle?" Stephano asked as he followed Piggeh down the hall.

"Perrine? Hmm... No I don't remember hearing that name anywhere." Piggeh said as he looked back to him. "Why do you ask?"

"Ah, it's a bit of a long story." Stephano said. "I was just wondering since you go around the castle a lot."

"As in literally or sleeping around?" Piggeh asked.

"Bit of both."

"Well sorry bud, can't help ya." Piggeh apologized as he entered another room.

"Well, thank you anyway."

Stephano followed Piggeh inside, and couldn't help but roll his eyes when he saw that Piggeh was standing in front of a mirror, staring at his own reflection.

"Ugh, of course." Stephano said and walked over, lightly pushing Piggeh away from the mirror. "We are not going to stop to hit on ourselves in the mirror."

Although Stephano had just said that, he changed his mind a little when he saw himself in the mirror. A lot of shit had happened, and it would have no doubt been understandable if Stephano was a bit worse for wear, but he still looked pretty good.

He snapped out of it when he felt Piggeh pulling him away, chuckling and saying; "Alright, handsome."

"My apologies." Stephano laughed a bit and turned to look through some drawers, finding a few tinderboxes but no laudanum.

"Found one!" Piggeh announced as he found a bottle.

Stephano turned to give a small thumbs up and continued to search, only to get distracted by a small meow.

The two looked and saw a fairly big grey cat with a fluffy mane crawl out from underneath a bed, mewing as he walked closer.

"Well, if it isn't your pet."

"Lion is not my pet." Piggeh laughed a bit, only for Lion to immediately begin rubbing his head against his legs.

"I beg to differ." Stephano chuckled, watching as Piggeh sat down and let the cat crawl into his lap.

"Hey buddy." Piggeh said softly, a gentle smile on his face as he pet the cat with his bandaged hand.

Stephano was going to complain about wasting time on Lion, but he hesitated to actually say anything when he heard the cat purr. Deciding that a quick cat break should be fine, he sat next to him.

As he watched Piggeh dote on Lion, he let his gaze drift up to Piggeh's visible eye, and noticed something. Usually Piggeh's pupil was thin like a snake's, but currently it was wide and circular, covering up nearly the entirety of his brown iris. Of course, Piggeh eventually noticed Stephano staring.

"Hm?" Piggeh looked to the statue, tilting his head. "What's up?"

"Ah, nothing." Stephano chuckled. "Your eyes are just very interesting."

To Stephano's confusion, the brown color in Piggeh's eye returned as his pupil became a thin slit again.

"Piggeh?"

"Thank you Steph." Piggeh quickly laughed, sounding a little more forced than usual. "Anyway, do you want Lion for a minute?"

"I think he'd just want to go back to you." Stephano chuckled.

"Nah, you can get him to stay for a bit." Piggeh said and scooted closer to Stephano so there was no space between them. He then gently patted Lion's back leg. "Pat your thigh a bit, he'll get the idea."

Stephano did as told, and watched as the cat walk onto his legs.

Lion looked up at him with big grey eyes, almost challenging Stephano, like; _"Okay, you took me away from my favorite person in this castle. Make it good."_

Stephano scratched the top of his head, watching as his eyes scrunched up tight and he leaned into the touch a bit.

"That's good right?" Stephano asked.

"Yeah, he's relaxed and trusts you." Piggeh chuckled as he got up and continued looking around the room. "Don't touch a lot of pussies, huh?"

"No, I don't." Stephano said, annoyed at the obvious joke. "I mean I used to try and keep lizards when I was a kid, but I'm not an expert on those either."

"Lizards?" Piggeh asked with a tilted head.

"Yeah, I was obsessed with the little things. I'll admit, I still find them pretty fascinating." Stephano said and scratched under Lion's chin, smiling as the cat purred.

"How cute." Piggeh said.

Stephano rolled his eyes. "You know, how did you get this cat to love you so much?"

"Well it's fairly easy when you still have animal ears to understand them." Piggeh said, grabbing hold of his pig ears for emphasis.

"True, but is he the same with the other pigs or Bunny?" Stephano asked.

"Definitely not with Bunny, she's scared of him and tends to forget she's bigger than him." Piggeh said, laughing. "But not really. I think I'm the only one that goes out of my way to spend time with him."

"I see."

He watched as Lion started to roll around and get comfortable on his lap, laying on his side. Stephano continued to pet him, and decided to try rubbing the cat's stomach, remembered something about dogs liking it.

"Wait wait, don't-"

"OW!" Stephano yelped as Lion suddenly grabbed at his arm with his sharp claws, biting him before releasing the statue and running off. "Fuck..."

"Shit, sorry. He doesn't like that."

"I noticed." Stephano said with sarcasm and looked to see the cat had left a few small scars. "This isn't too bad is it?"

"You should be fine, but best not to let it sit open." Piggeh said and sat next to the statue. He dug through his bag, pulling out a roll of bandages. "Give me your hand."

"Don't try anything." Stephano muttered as he held it out, allowing the pig to bandage up his wrist and hand.

"Is it too tight? Too loose?" Piggeh asked as he finished up.

"No, it's fine." Stephano said and watched as small spots of blood formed on the white cloth.

"Heh, we match." Piggeh chuckled as he held up his own bandage covered arms and earning a small laugh from the statue.

"I suppose." Stephano stood up and held a hand out to the pig. "Is there anything left in here?"

"Nope, cleared of laudanum." Piggeh said, grabbing his hand and getting to his feet.

"Alright, let's look elsewhere." Stephano said and started walking to the door, the pig following after.

Stephano looked around, seeing no sign of the cat that had been there moments before.

"Where do you think Lion is?" He asked, and Piggeh shrugged in response.

"You know..." Piggeh moved closer to Stephano, placing a hand on his upper back and slowly moving it down as they walked. "If you wanted I could make up some excuse and say my nose wasn't working right today."

Stephano wasn't sure if Piggeh planned to actually touch his behind, but decided to grab his hand and remove it anyway.

"Not a chance Piggeh." Stephano said and let go before moving further away. "Besides even if I was interested, which I'm not, you'd just enter the base screaming that you got me in bed."

"Hey give me a little credit Stephy." Piggeh pouted in the most fake way. "Just ask, and I won't kiss and tell."

"Good to know." Stephano said. "Answer is still no."

"Okay, but you're missing out babe!" Piggeh joked as he walked ahead and opened another door.

"Doubt it." Stephano muttered and followed him inside.

"Check the right side of the room, I'll do the other." Piggeh said, walking to the left of the room and looking around.

Stephano nodded and continued the scavenging, checking more drawers, opening a wardrobe, even looking under a few things.

"Hey Steph, can I ask you something?"

"Depends, what is it?"

"It's about what we learned at Martin's." Piggeh said, and Stephano was a little surprised.

"Ok, what is it? Do you need me to explain anything?" Stephano asked with a raised brow.

"No no. Umm... Just... How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" Stephano chuckled a bit.

"I'm not joking. Just... What we heard, are you doing okay?"

Stephano had to admit, he didn't expect Piggeh of all people to ask that. Honestly, what was he supposed to say?

"I'm alright. We don't know if it's even true." Stephano attempted to brush off the subject as he continued looting.

"Don't you think it is though?" Piggeh asked, leaning against a table. "I mean... It makes way too much sense to not be the case."

"I suppose..." Stephano said.

"Are you seriously alright-"

"Since when did you want to talk about my feelings?" Stephano asked, his tone filled with venom.

"Steph, I'm just trying to check on you." Piggeh shot back, getting out of his relaxed position and walking over. "I mean, fuck. I've been through this-"

**"Then tell me how you handled it!"**

Stephano's sudden shouting made Piggeh back up, his eyes wide.

"I mean- How am I supposed to feel?! Should I be _thankful_ I got a second chance?! That I didn't die as a literal child?! But why should I be happy that I had to live the rest of my life in this hellhole?! Why did this God of Brennenburg bring us back?! And just to trap us here?!"

"I'm sorry Stephano..." Piggeh said in a voice much quieter than usual.

"Piggeh... How have you taken this so well?"

"I... I've had time." Piggeh made his way over to Stephano and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You just need it too."

"I suppose..." Stephano said and took Piggeh's hand from his shoulder. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for shouting."

"Ah, you're fine bud." Piggeh laughed. "Let's get back to the search."

"Right..."

* * *

"So you found nothing?" Mayo asked Mr. Chair who was currently laying on the couch.

"No, I looked everywhere in that room too." Mr. Chair said exasperated.

"Well genius, maybe it's none of us." Jennifer said. "We left the base unattended yesterday and today, maybe someone just came by and stole it."

"But who? And why would they just steal laudanum?" Mr. Chair asked.

"I'm not sure." Jennifer said, and before the conversation could continue the door swung open.

"We're back!" Piggeh said, holding up his bag. "We got laudanum!"

"Great, thank you so much Piggeh." Jennifer said, walking over as Piggeh took out some of the bottles to hand to her.

"No need to thank me Jen, though I can think of some fun ways to do so if you insist~" Piggeh said.

"No." Jennifer bluntly stated as she went to store the bottles, causing Piggeh to exaggeratedly sigh in disappointment.

"Anyway, I'm going to go lay down." Stephano said and started heading to his room, pausing for a moment as he passed Mr. Chair on the couch. "Good news for you, Chair. I'm too tired to search your room again."

"It wasn't me!!" Mr. Chair shouted as he sat up.

Stephano attempted to walk by, but Mayo grabbed his shirt.

"What's with the bandages?"

"Oh, these?" Stephano asked. "Ah, I just pissed off Piggeh's cat and got scratched."

"Piggeh has a cat?" Mayo tilted his head and let go of Stephano. "Why haven't I met it?"

"He's not mine, he just wanders around the castle a lot. He usually doesn't come here and you just haven't encountered him out there yet." Piggeh explained and patted the boy's head. "Hope you can soon though, I'm sure he'd love you. Just don't pet his stomach like Goldie over there."

"Ha."

* * *

"You've been quiet since you got here."

Fleur giggled as she turned to face Stephano, the breeze in the ever present storm of flowers moving around her dress and hair.

"I've just been thinking..." Stephano replied. "There's a lot I learned in the past two days. I'm still trying to process it all."

"I heard..." Fleur said. "I wish I could help you..."

"Fleur.... Do you really not know who you are?" Stephano asked.

"No, I don't..." She said sadly. "But... Who do you think I am?"

Stephano paused for a moment to think.

"With everything I know... You couldn't have just been a friend, and you were too old to be my lover..." Stephano said. "But you were too important to have been nobody to me. I know that, because you wouldn't be here with me now."

"Then what would I have been?" She asked.

"I think... You were family. A sister, or perhaps... My mother..."

_"What an interesting guess."_

Before Stephano could even notice, his surroundings had changed. He was surrounded by a fog of purple, red, and black. He couldn't see anything around him.

"Fleur?!"

_"Tell me, how do you even know she existed at all? Fleur might be like me."_

"Janus, what did you do with her?!" Stephano shouted, looking around for wherever the entity was hiding.

_"Oh, I did nothing. I just spirited you away."_

"Why?!" Stephano began to try to run through the darkness, but it seemed that wherever he moved, Janus was still close.

_"Just to simply warn you like she did."_

Finally, the fog had cleared, and Stephano skidded to a stop. He was in that hall once more, in front of the door that led to his buried memories.

_"You're getting closer to unlocking that door Stephano, and you know what happens when you do."_

Stephano gasped as arms had suddenly snaked around his head, hands covering his eyes before he could truly see. Someone pressed themselves against his back, and he heard a low chuckle.

_"This body of yours will be mine to take."_

* * *

Stephano shot his eyes open, gasping and panting as he recognized the sight of his ceiling. He was shaking so heavily and he could feel tears falling down his face.

Unable to help himself, he rolled onto his side and curled up, clutching tightly at his long hair.

"Please... Just leave me alone..." Stephano whispered into his mattress.

He knew Janus couldn't if he wanted to, but he hoped that if he begged enough, maybe this God would give him some kind of mercy.

_Why couldn't he have just been left dead?_

Just as he was beginning to dwell on these thoughts, he heard a door opening from outside his room. It was late wasn't it? Who was up?

"What?" Stephano mumbled as he got up, grabbing his shirt and hood as he quietly cracked his door open. His eyes adjusted to the darkness just in time to see someone leaving the base. "Who the hell was that?"

He hurriedly slipped on his clothes and shoes, then grabbed a candle and tinderbox before leaving his room as well. He made his way to the door and quietly opened it. He saw no one still there, so he lit the wick and began searching for whoever left.

 _'Could this be the thief?'_ Stephano thought as he walked through the halls.

He wondered for a moment if he had gone the right way, but soon heard it.

At first it sounded like laughing, and he was already preparing to make whoever thought it was funny to steal supplies regret it. Then he heard gasps and moans, and he realized what it actually was.

Crying.

It was getting louder as he made his way closer, and his eyes widened as he heard a small cry of pain.

He turned a corner and saw a shut door with light underneath it. The noise was clearly coming from it, but it had now become muffled, like the person's mouth was now covered.

Quickly, he blew out the candle he was carrying and set it down, reaching to grab his sword, only to realize he had left it back in his room.

"Shit..." Stephano muttered, realizing that he needed to help whoever was being attacked with brute force.

In mere seconds, Stephano charged to the door and swung it open, surprised that it was unlocked. As the door opened, he heard a gasp and the sound of something metal hitting the floor.

When he entered the room, he was surprised to see just Piggeh, illuminated by the light of a lantern. He was sitting on the ground with his arms behind him, looking up at him with shock. His face still wet with tears.

"Stephano?! What are you doing here?"

"Me?! I should be asking you!" Stephano said, then his eyes drifted to the side and he finally noticed it.

The bandages that always clothed Piggeh's arms were strewn about, and alongside them was a kitchen knife, it's edges coated with fresh blood.

"Piggeh... Let me see your arms."

"What? Why would you need to see my arms?" Piggeh laughed again, a very forced laugh like earlier that day. "Steph, I think you're still half asleep. Go home. I'm sorry I woke you-"

"Piggeh, I'm not kidding around." Stephano got a little more aggressive with his tone, stepping forward and kneeling in front of the pig. "What did you do?!"

"What?! I'm just- HEY!"

Piggeh yelled as Stephano forcibly grabbed him by his sleeve. He attempted to struggle away, but was unable to stop Stephano grabbing his arm and yanking it to where he could see, and when he did his heart sank.

Along Piggeh's arm was a myriad of cuts. Some fresh from just now, or perhaps cut back open, some were closed, and a few had even gone white.

"Piggeh... How long have you been doing this?"

He didn't answer his question, instead ripping his arm away from Stephano's grasp.

Stephano felt himself get sicker, remembering that he had never seen Piggeh without these bandages. They had been there since they first met.

"Piggeh, this is dangerous! God, how are you not dead from doing this?!"

 **"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU FUCKING CARE!"** Piggeh suddenly screamed, shocking Stephano.

"What-"

"It's not like you ever noticed until now!" Piggeh yelled, his face redder than Stephano had ever seen it. "Hell, when you and Green were fighting about the laudanum, you didn't even think to fucking look at me!!!"

"I..."

"Besides, even when you helped me calm down, you told me to not let anyone know you did so! Why?! Am I just so unimportant you didn't want anyone to think you were even nice to me?! WHY-"

Piggeh was cut off as Stephano suddenly grabbed and wrapped his arms around him, holding him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry..."

"W-What?"

"I'm sorry Piggeh..." Stephano said, clearly choking back his own urge to cry. "I always thought nothing could phase you, that you were stronger than the rest of us, even when I saw otherwise... I shouldn't have let that cloud my judgement..."

"Steph... No, I'm sorry, this wasn't about you, I shouldn't have said any of that."

"But I still hurt you." Stephano said, pulling away a bit and reaching a hand towards the side of Piggeh's face he always kept covered, but paused before he made any contact. "May I?"

Piggeh nodded, and let Stephano push back his hair, allowing him to see the other eye of his, blackened after being filled with blood, and surrounded by an abundance of awful scars, frozen in time from when he was first slaughtered. Despite the gruesome sight, Stephano rested his hand on the pig's cheek and wiped the tears that had gathered.

"I know I can't erase these problems, and you don't have to tell me the full story of why you were out here tonight..." Stephano said, looking into Piggeh's eyes with his golden ones. "If you want, I can just stay with you now, and we can go back together. But I won't let you bring that blade anywhere near your skin again."

Piggeh started to sob again, and quickly buried his face in the statue's chest, a move that would normally be met with being pushed away, but he instead held him close.

For several minutes they stayed like this, the always pumped Piggeh crying in the arms of the always distant Stephano.

* * *

"Okay, I don't think anyone's up." Stephano whispered as he opened the door to the base, earning a relieved sigh from Piggeh who followed him inside.

Stephano took Piggeh's hand and led him back to his room.

"Look Piggeh, I won't tell the rest of the group unless you're ready to share this with them." Stephano assured the pig. "However, in exchange you need to hand me that knife. I won't leave you alone with it until I'm sure you're not going to use it on yourself."

"Seriously?" Piggeh asked.

"Of course. I may give it back whenever you have to go out with someone, but I'll want it back when you return." Stephano said.

Piggeh mumbled something and handed over the blade.

"Thank you." Stephano said as he took it. "Goodnight Piggeh. Get some rest, okay?"

"Alright..."

Stephano gave the pig another quick goodnight and went off to return to sleep. Piggeh sighed and entered his room, looking down at his arms that were bandaged once again.

He kicked off his shoes then walked over to his bed and flopped onto it, not even bothering to take off the rest of his clothing. Sobbing like that wears a man out. He rolled onto his side and played with a strand of his pink hair.

To say he had a lot of mixed feelings about this was an understatement.

_"Piggeh... How long have you been doing this?"_

"Heh... How long was it...?"


	12. Cherry Blossom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Animal death and violence, a woman bleeding to death, sexual assault, emotional and physical abuse, gaslighting, self harm, blood, gory descriptions, body horror, body dysmorphia, an adult taking advantage of a minor, child endangerment

_In the language of flowers, cherry blossoms represent the transience of life, kindness, and imperfect beauty..._

* * *

Even after the screaming had stopped, the doe was unable to cease as she tore into the buck's flesh with her teeth. Blood filled every crevice in her mouth and made her sick, but she kept biting until she was satisfied.

She gazed upon the rabbit she had defended herself against, his white fur stained a berry red. She could tell her own tawny fur wasn't any better, even without seeing herself.

The most gruesome sight however was something she dreaded but needed to see.

Her little kits, not even a week old. Their skins of pink and black with only a few sparse hairs had split open and bled, their bones and skulls were broken beyond repair. She hopped to the one that looked the least hurt, a little bunny with bright rosy skin, and gently nudged him, staining his face with a splash of red. She attempted to clean it, but only smudged it further.

He didn't move, just like the others.

She began to push the small bodies together, making sure not a single one was far from one another. She knew it would do no good, but best not to leave them cold she thought.

She heard something approaching, and although hesitant she scurried off, not wanting to wait around to become a meal with them.

* * *

Sure she had lost the monster by now, the sow ceased her stumbling. Unable to hold herself up anymore, she fell to the ground, dropping what was precious to her.

She dragged herself to her still sleeping child, not caring about the large gash in her body, bleeding and staining the white sheet she had tied to herself with rope. She looked upon the sleeping boy, relieved that he had no fresh injuries like her. He looked different than he was days ago, once a cut up little pig, but now he looked like the human children that cared for them at their old home. She knew he was hers though, not only for the fact she herself had changed like he did, or that she had seen this transition with her own eyes, but because he also still smelled like her little one.

She then heard footsteps coming down the hall, and quickly grabbed a blanket, pulling it over her motionless piglet to hide him. As she rolled onto her back, grunting in pain, the door opened, revealing a human looking woman with dark skin and short mud colored hair in curls. She had long ears covered in brunette fur that extended from the sides of her head, and her pink eyes widened when she saw the mauled pig on the ground.

The sow didn't trust this woman near her or her little shoat, and expressed it by letting out the closest she could to an aggressive squeal, making the stranger jump back a bit.

"Shh... I won't hurt you..." She said, her voice scratchy and she paused between her words briefly, showing that although she was better at human speech than the sow was, she was still learning.

The rabbit stepped inside, looking through her bag and sighing in disappointment when she found she had no laudanum to give. She began to look around the room, hoping to find something to relieve the pig's pain. She noticed the lump hidden under the blanket and moved to lift it, but jumped back when the sow hurriedly threw her hand over it, practically snarling at the well intentioned rabbit.

"Ah, sorry." She said, a little confused but decided not to pry.

As the doe continued her search, the sow felt the room spinning around her. Her ears were ringing and she felt so sleepy. She was going to die, and she knew it. Then beneath her arm she felt something, she felt her piglet breathing for the first time since they came to this place. She smiled, but she couldn't help the tears from escaping. She didn't realize how much she missed that, and how she would likely not feel it again.

"Hang on, I'll be back." The rabbit said, heading for the door, but halted when the sow yelled out a _"No!"_

"But you're going to..." The rabbit paused when she turned back and saw the tears falling from the pig's blue eyes, how her skin had gotten paler than before, and how much blood was on the floor surrounding her. "Do... Do you want me to stay with you?"

The sow weakly nodded and allowed the other woman to come closer to her, sitting in front of her. She held out her hand, but didn't make contact with the pig's pink curls until she nodded again. 

"I'm sorry..." The rabbit mumbled, choking back her own urge to cry as she gently pet the sow, watching her grow weaker.

She was surprised when the pig began to pull on the blanket beneath her, revealing the body of a young boy beneath it. His body was pale and covered in scars, and on his head was a mess of pink hair with pig ears poking out from it. 

"Is this your...?"

"Mhm..." Was all she could answer with, now too weak to even move her head. "Please... Care..."

She trailed off, struggling to find the words she needed, but the rabbit could probably guess what it was she wanted to say.

Take care of him.

She hesitantly reached for the piglet, and when the sow made no objection she gently scooped him into her arms, cradling his small body in her lap. She looked to the pig again, seeing her sad smile as she gazed upon her child one last time. Then her eyes dulled and her breathing stopped. 

Watching this, the rabbit felt herself physically waver. She sniveled as tears fell down her cheeks and her throat tightened. She held the boy tightly as she began to weep. 

For a moment she remembered the forest, the precious time she had spent with her own children. She couldn't save them, herself, nor the sow before her. However, for the pig, her children, and herself, she would keep this boy safe.

* * *

"Dinner's ready!" Bunny called out as she filled a bowl with cooked vegetables and some bread chunks.

She looked to the piglet's bedroom door, seeing him poking out. He was on all fours as usual, glaring at her with his slit pupiled brown eye, a sight that shocked her the first time she saw it. He probably thought he still looked threatening, but admittedly he just looked ridiculous, though she would never say it to his face. No use wounding his pride. It didn't help that the only clothes she could find for him was an oversized button up shirt that she had to cut the sleeves off of so he wouldn't trip over them. 

"Come on baby, you gotta eat." Bunny said as she stepped closer and waved the piglet over. 

He continued to glare at her as he slowly crawled out of his room. As he got closer Bunny knelt down and gently set the bowl in front of him. As she did he suddenly lunged and bit her wrist. She yelped and quickly pulled her hand away, thankful he didn't insist on holding on.

"No! No biting!" She scolded the pig, who only shouted back with a squeal-like noise. "No squealing, either."

She got up and walked away, grabbing another bowl.

"Do you want water?"

The piglet didn't respond, so she took it as a yes and filled the bowl with some water she had retrieved the other day. She turned back to the pig, still staring at her with hostility.

"Remember, no biting." She said and began to approach. He continued to glare at her as she set the water down, but he did not make a move to bite. "That's good."

As she walked away, the piglet inched closer to the water bowl, and he softened when he saw his own face. A horrid human staring back at him, bloody with the red scar that surrounded his brown eye, the other swollen and black like darkness.

"Hey."

He snapped out of it and looked up, seeing Bunny sitting at the table with her own meal in front of her, staring at him confused.

"Are you going to eat?"

He took a moment to understand what she asked and looked to the food. He leaned down and tried to bite the greens, frustrated at how small his new mouth was.

"Do you wanna use the fork?" She asked, pointing at her own for emphasis. The piglet stared at her puzzled for a moment before looking at his own. He tried to raise his hand, but quickly put it back on the ground when he began to fall off balance. "Rest on your haunches, then you can use your hands."

He took a second to figure out what to do, before sitting up, moving a little too quickly to the point he almost fell backwards, but caught himself as his bottom hit the back of his heels. He raised his hands to his face, bending his fingers a few times to figure out how they worked. 

"Great. Now, use it like this." She said, picking up the fork and pierced it through some of the food before putting it in her mouth. He followed her example, struggling slightly as he attempted to work with the utensil, but he was soon able to eat something. "See? It's good, isn't it?" 

_"You little shit."_ Went unspoken.

He waited for a minute before responding with a simple "Mhm," surprising Bunny with the verbal response.

"Do you wanna come sit up here?" Bunny asked and stood again. The piglet responded with panic and hurriedly scooted back. "It's okay, you don't have to. It'll be a lot more comfortable though."

She walked over to the shoat, and held her hand out to him. He contemplated before hesitantly taking her hand. She smiled and helped him stand to his feet.

"Let's try to walk. I'll hold you all the way." She said and began to help the pig walk over to the table, keeping him steady as he stumbled alongside her. "You're doing good."

Once they reached the table she helped him onto his chair, then he waited and watched her as she retrieved the bowls from the ground and brought them to the table.

"There you go-"

Bunny was taken off guard by the boy suddenly grabbing her arm. She looked to him with wary eyes, relaxing when he leaned forward and pressed his nose to hers. She smiled and reciprocated by rubbing her nose against his. 

"You're welcome." She chuckled and pulled away, sitting across from him. "Okay, eat up Piggeh."

* * *

"I got the seeds!"

Bunny chuckled as she looked back to the familiar voice and sound of little bare feet running on stone. The piglet skidded to a stop in front of her, holding out the seeds he was sent to retrieve.

"Thank you baby." She said, taking the seeds and petting the top of his head, the shoat giggling in response. She then turned her attention to the planting boxes in front of her, burying the seeds beneath the dirt. "Can you get the watering can too?"

"Okay mom!" Bunny's ears perked and she looked back at Piggeh as he grabbed the watering can and turned back to her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You called me mom." She pointed out, the piglet only shrugging as he walked back to her.

"Well... You're kinda like my mama, so-" Piggeh was cut off with a gasp as Bunny suddenly reached out and pulled him into a hug. "B-Bunny?"

"Oh... Sorry..." Bunny apologized and pulled away, a smile still on her face. "I'm just... I'm glad you're comfortable enough to call me that."

"I see!" Piggeh giggled.

Then as he was about to say something else, they were interrupted by the sound of a knock. Bunny quickly left the garden room, giving Piggeh the order to stay put. The knocks continued as she crept to the door, then she began to hear a quiet voice.

"Is someone in there? Please let me in, it's going to find me." 

She reached forward and grabbed the handle for the slot in the door, opening it to peer outside.

"State your intentions."

"I just need to hide." A boy on the other side said. He looked to be a young teenager with shaggy brunette hair, a pair of bristled pig ears of the same color, a single tusk sticking out of his mouth, his skin a light tan and covered in scars. She then heard a growl not too far away. "Please, I don't know where to go."

She froze for a moment, then hurriedly unlocked the door, opening it and pulling the boy inside.

"Thank you!" The boar whispered as she shut and locked the entrance again.

"You're welcome." Bunny sighed and asked. "What can I call you?"

"I'm Jens." He said, then started to observe his surroundings. "Wow, this is a pretty nice place..."

"You can call me Bunny..." She responded sarcastically. "Are you alright, did you get hurt at all?"

"Ah, sorry." He apologized, his attention snapping back to her. "No, I managed to get here before it saw me."

"That's good..."

She watched the boar look around again, and then he began to sniff a few times.

"Is there someone else here?"

"Umm, yes. My son. Hold on." She answered and went back to the garden, finding Piggeh peeking outside the door.

"What's going on?"

"We have a visitor. I don't know if he can be trusted yet, so be careful." Bunny whispered.

"Why'd you let him in?" Piggeh asked as he took her hand.

"Because he was in danger. I couldn't just leave him out there. Besides, he's only a kid." She said, and the piglet nodded in understanding. Holding his hand tightly, she walked back to where Jens could see them. "Piggeh, this is Jens."

"That's your son?" Jens asked.

"Yes, he is-"

Bunny was cut off by the boar suddenly laughing. Thinking quickly, she let go of Piggeh and rushed to cover his mouth.

"What are you doing? That beast is still out there." She hissed, and once Jens settled down she pulled her hands away from his mouth.

"I'm sorry, I just- Do you know how this works?" He asked, still laughing a bit.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well he's a swine, like me. Though one of those domestic ones. I doubt you birthed him." He snickered, and Bunny felt her eye twitching. Before she could give this stranger a piece of her mind, Piggeh cut in.

"Well, Bunny looks after me like my mama."

"I see, well that's very nice of her." He said, taking a gentler tone with the boy than he was with Bunny. He then looked back to her and asked quietly. "Where is his mother, anyway?"

"Where do you think?" She whispered with a seething tone.

"I'm very sorry..."

"It's fine, anyway, would you like something to eat while we wait?" Bunny asked, walking over to their food storage.

"If it's not too much trouble, yeah." He said, then looked to Piggeh. "So kid, how old are you?"

"I think I'm nine." He answered a little unsure.

"I see. I'm about thirteen. How long have you been with Ms. Bunny here?"

"Two years..."

"Wow, two years? Has she been with you since day one?" Jens asked, and Piggeh nodded. "That's great. I haven't run into many other people since I woke up." 

"You've been alone?" Piggeh asked.

"Yeah, I have."

Before they could continue, Bunny set a few plates of food on the table, being careful to not make too much noise.

"Alright, eat up. You too Piggeh." She said, and the pigs complied and sat at the table. "So, you don't have a group?"

"No. I've stayed with some people in the past, but not for very long." He answered as he began to eat. "Food's pretty good, by the way."

"Have you had meals like this in awhile?" Bunny asked.

"Not really. Mostly a few roasted rats." He said, shrugging as he continued his meal.

"Ah, lovely." She said. "If I may ask, what happened to your other tusk?"

"Oh, that's not much of a story. I was running from one of those creatures out there, tripped down some stairs, and knocked one of them out." Jens explained.

"Well- That must have hurt."

"It did, but I barely noticed at the time because I immediately got up and continued running." 

"Seriously? If that happened to me I think I would break in half." Piggeh said, remembering how just the other day he moved a little weird and tore open one of his scars.

"Yeah, you look a little too small to handle a tumble like that." Jens chuckled. "Anyway, are you actually a rabbit? If so, how did you learn to cook like this?"

"Well, I found a kitchen pretty soon after waking up, and I was able to figure it out from there." Bunny said, then reached over and pet Piggeh's head. "Plus, when you have a little one to look after you learn how to adapt quickly, for him."

"I'm glad he has someone like you." Jens said then paused as he seemed to be listening for something. "I don't hear the monster anymore. I'll get out of your hair now, thank you for the hiding place and the food."

The boar got up and started to walk to the door. As he did Bunny thought for a moment, and then called out.

"Wait, before you go. I want to make an offer."

"What would that be?" Jens asked, perplexed as he looked back to her.

"I can't let you go back on your own, and honestly... I can't do that much without endangering Piggeh. According to your story you're very good at surviving, so I'd like you to stay here and help us out." Bunny offered. "However, if I think for a minute you're a danger to either of us, you will be gone, understand?"

"I understand, and I think I'll accept, at least for now. But, I have one condition myself."

"And that is?" Bunny asked.

"You aren't going to be my mother." Jens said. "My mom was in the forest, and I don't want to replace her."

"Alright, I understand that." Bunny said and got up from the table. "Well, if you're going to stay with us, I should show you a room you can use."

"Guess we'll be seeing each other a lot more, huh little buddy?" Jens asked as he looked to Piggeh, who giggled in response.

"Yeah, I guess."

* * *

"Okay, let's split up."

"What?" Piggeh asked, his attention darting back to the boar who had turned back to face him. They had stopped in front a corridor that split into two.

"You're gonna go that way, and I'm gonna go the other." Jens said, pointing down the left hall. "I'll come get you when I'm done, okay?"

"I'm gonna be alone?" He asked, a little annoyed but there was a hint of nervousness to his tone. "Can't I just stay with you?"

"We'll get done faster if we just separate." Jens said. "We wanna be thorough, and we can't be out too long or we'll worry Bunny."

"Okay, but just hurry up." Piggeh sighed and turned to walk down the hall.

"That's a good boy. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Piggeh looked back, watching the boar disappear into another room. Taking a deep breath, he went in his own direction. He decided to go far into the corridor, so he could gradually walk back to Jens as he searched. He was rarely ever alone in this dangerous castle, and the thought of not having Bunny or Jens around scared him.

He reached the end of the hallway and entered a room. He looked around, picking up bottles of laudanum and some tinderboxes.

As he was pocketing a few things, his ears flicked as he heard footsteps down the hall. Was Jens done already? Though, it seemed a little too soft to be him.

Curious, Piggeh opened the door and peered out, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw what was coming. He couldn't really make it out in the dark, but the person walking in his direction was much shorter than Jens was, as the man had become a damned behemoth in height by now. It was also very clearly not Bunny, she was taller too and he would have seen the silhouette of her ears. In fact, he couldn't see any ears protruding from their head. They seemed to be carrying something that was... Squirming...

This was a complete stranger, and to make it worse, Piggeh wasn't exactly subtle when he opened the door. They were looking straight at him as he stared back.

"Hi-"

Before they could finish, Piggeh swiftly shut the door, backing up and looking around in panic. Perhaps he could hide in the closet, but that's stupid. That person obviously knows he's in here, and would find him right away. He could break the window first and make it look like he jumped out, but he wouldn't have time.

He was _out_ of time.

The door swung open, and very briefly Piggeh could make out what the stranger looked like. They were a boy with brown hair and green eyes behind glasses. A **human** boy. 

The next few moments were a blur, but Piggeh knew he made a dash for the door, shoving the boy out of the way with ever trembling hands as he escaped. Running down the hall with a fast beating heart, he heard a thud, a brief shout, and then an awful wailing. 

He heard Jens shouting after him, but he continued to run, sweat quickly staining his pomegranate pink sweater. He felt like he couldn't breathe, and he could barely see where he was going with how dizzy he was getting, but he wouldn't stop for a moment.

Not until he was back with the safety of his mom.

* * *

"What the FUCK were you thinking?! You made a big goddamn deal about not wanting to be alone and you run off without me?!"

Piggeh flinched as Jens shouted at him from across the room, he was literally backed into a corner now as he distanced himself from the larger swine.

"Jens, stop yelling at him. He's scared-" Bunny tried to calm Jens down, but he cut her off.

"If I left him like that, you would never let me hear the end of it! I just wanna know what was going through his mind-"

"Just let him breathe for a minute!!!" Bunny shouted, and Jens froze for a moment, then scoffed as he began walking to his room.

"Fine, let him off easy for potentially getting me killed. Good parenting you have there."

"Why you little..." Bunny muttered then looked to her piglet, sighing. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Piggeh sniffled and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, but Jens did have a point." Bunny said. "You can't just run away like that. You really worried him."

"I didn't mean to... I just..." He began, but interrupted himself to take a few deep breaths. 

"What did you see that scared you so much anyway?" She asked.

"I... I saw a human..." Piggeh said.

"A human? Are you sure?" 

"I don't really know. He looked like one..." He admitted.

Then, there was a knock on the door, and Piggeh froze. They were all here, who was out there?

Bunny began to walk to the door, and as this mystery visitor knocked on the door she looked through the slot, and Piggeh felt nervous when he saw her pink eyes widen.

"Hello, is there a boy with pink hair in there?"

His heart dropped when he heard that voice still fresh in his mind. It was the same one belonging to the boy from earlier.

"I might know where he is..." Bunny began and glanced to Piggeh before looking back to the kid on the other side of the door. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious about him. Plus, I'm pretty sure I scared him and I want to apologize."

"Ok, give me one moment." She said and shut the slot then looked back to Piggeh.

"Don't tell me... You want to let him in?"

"We don't have to, but I think we should hear him out. I'll be here the whole time so he can't hurt you, if he even wants to." She explained.

Piggeh felt a chorus of panic surging in his body, wanting to scream NO and hide in his room. But... He knew Bunny probably had the right idea to at least see what happens. He took a few deep breaths before responding.

"Promise you'll stay here."

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, open the door." The pig sighed, and watched as Bunny began to unlock the door. 

She soon opened it and let in the boy, and in the light Piggeh was able to get a better look at him. He wore a green poncho over a white dress shirt, some black pants, and brown boots. He had a sling made of brown fabric resting over his shoulder, allowing a much smaller human with bright blonde hair to rest against his chest. Piggeh noticed a wide bruise on the side of the little one's face, and felt his anxiousness spike up again when he realized he may have caused that.

"He's right there." Bunny told the boy and pointed in the direction of the very nervous pig practically leaning into the wall.

"Oh, hello!" He said, waving a bit and moved closer. "I'm sorry for scaring you back there, are you okay?"

"W-Wait! Not another step!" Piggeh yelped, feeling the other boy was getting a tad too close.

"Umm, sorry." He said a little confused but stopped in his tracks. "What's your name?"

"Piggeh... What about you two?"

"I'm Green, and this is my little brother, Mayo." 

"Hi!!" Mayo said a little more loud than Piggeh was expecting, and waved.

"Hi..."

Green then gently shushed the child.

"We don't wanna shout, remember?" He told Mayo, who nodded in response. Then he looked back to the pig. "How old are you?"

"14..."

Green's eyes seemed to light up behind his glasses when he heard that answer.

"Really? I'll be 14 too soon."

"Oh, that's cool." Piggeh said, feeling a little calmer now, but still wary of the boy.

However, as he was now standing just a few feet from him, he was able to now take in his scent. There was something familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place it for a moment. He soon began to remember the farm he lived on, running through the green blades of grass on hot days until a pair of sun-tanned hands would scoop him up. He would then sit on the lap of a little girl with long strawberry blonde hair, and watch her look at him with adoring brown eyes.

Sometimes, she would be carrying this scent after coming back to the farm.

"If I might ask, what did I do to scare you?" The boy asked with a softer tone, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I feel really bad, but I don't know what I did wrong."

"It... It wasn't something you did really..." Piggeh sighed and rubbed his arm. "I'm just scared of humans..."

 _Most_ humans anyway...

"You thought I'm a human?" Green asked, and this confused the pig.

"Are you not?"

"No, I'm a chair. I can see how you thought that though." He said with a giggle. "Anyway, umm... I don't really want to intrude, and I've gotten my questions answered, so I guess we can go now." 

"We have a bit of extra food, would you like something to take with you?" Bunny asked, and the toddler got excited.

"I wanna snack!"

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble." Green said sheepishly.

"Not at all, just give me one moment." Bunny said, walking over to their food storage with the boy following behind.

"W-Wait! Before you go!" Piggeh said, stepping forward and getting the chair's attention. "Could I possibly see you again?"

"Ah, yeah. I'm going to be in this area of the castle for awhile." He said, giving him a warm smile. "Do you want to see me again?"

"I do, if that's okay..." Piggeh mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"Okay! Do you want me to come by tomorrow?" Green asked, noticeably quite excited.

"Sure, sounds good." Piggeh said, a small smile on his face.

"Great! I'll see you then!" He beamed, then as Bunny came back he thanked her and took the food. He gave the pig and rabbit one more goodbye and left the base, Mayo babbling out "Bye bye!" a few times. 

" _Could I possibly see you again_?" Piggeh jumped, looking back to see Jens standing outside of his room with a shit eating grin. "What happened to being scared of him?"

"He seems nice!" He retorted.

"Aren't you glad we let him now?" Bunny chuckled, petting Piggeh's head.

"Yeah, I am..."

* * *

"Green, where's the rest of them?"

Hearing Mayo's voice, Piggeh peeked around the corner, seeing the Chair brothers in front of a fountain.

"I'm not sure. Do you know why?" Green said, looking at a pair of sculpted legs that rested on the edge.

Being as quiet as possible, Piggeh began to creep over.

"I dunno..." Mayo said as he tried to think. Then he looked behind him and saw the pig coming over.

He smiled and excitedly waved, prompting Piggeh to quickly hold a finger to his lips and duck behind something, just before Green could see him when he turned around.

"What were you waving at?"

"Nothing." Mayo giggled, which Green raised an eyebrow at. 

"Uh-huh..."

Now that he wasn't looking again, Piggeh continued to sneak over. Just as they were about to resume their conversation about the fountain he reached his hands around and covered the chair's eyes.

"Guess who~"

"Oh gosh, I wonder who it could possibly be." Green said with sarcasm, taking Piggeh's hands and lowering them from his face. "Hello Piggeh."

"Hey!" Piggeh said, practically bouncing from joy as he hugged his friend.

"Piggeh!" Mayo giggled as he stumbled over and grabbed the pig's leg.

"Hi little buddy." Piggeh let go of Green and picked up the toddler to hug him too. "I'd scold him for almost blowing my cover, but I don't think you'd appreciate me teaching him to not do that-"

"Yeah, no, I'd rather he keep that impulse." Green laughed, rolling his eyes as he reached over to wipe a bit of muck from the boy's face. "Anyway, you seem happy today."

"Yeah, I have something for you!" Piggeh said, letting the toddler down and digging through his bag.

"What is it?" Green asked as he watched Piggeh pull a beret in a deep green color out and hold it towards him.

"I found this yesterday, and I thought it would look nice on you..."

Green was stunned for a moment but took the hat, trying it on and looking at his reflection in the fountain water. He found it to slump on his head a bit awkwardly, but it was very soft and easy to adjust.

"Sorry, it's kinda big..."

"I love it." Green chuckled and pulled his friend into another embrace. "Thank you so much."

"It was nothing..." Piggeh laughed a little as he held the chair close again.

"Piggeh! Piggeh! Look at what Green made me!" Mayo said excitedly, picking up a plush doll from the ground and holding it up to the pig.

"Oh, that's really cool!" Piggeh said and carefully took the doll. He then noticed that the doll had pink yarn hair and a pair of mismatched button eyes, one brown and one black. "Green, is this supposed to be me?"

"He was missing you, and I had to appease him somehow." Green laughed with a touch of exasperation.

"Aww, well I was missing you too little guy." Piggeh said and handed the doll back to Mayo.

"On that subject, could I ask you about something?" Green asked.

"What is it?"

"Well, I've actually been wondering if you wanted to come stay with Mayo and I for a night." Green suggested and sat on the edge of the fountain. "With Bunny's permission of course."

"Oh sure, but why?" Piggeh asked and sat next to him, watching as Mayo paid them no mind and played with his toys.

"I just don't really want to be alone for once..." He mumbled.

"Well, why not come stay with Bunny?"

"It's weird, but I just don't feel comfortable there long..."

* * *

Piggeh was awoken by the sound of crying, and then the feeling of a warm body moving away from him. He opened his eyes, seeing Green walking over to the other bed where Mayo was laying and crying. 

To the side, he could spot the mirror that stood in the corner of the room. He hated the damn thing, but at least it was too dark to really see anything in it.

"Did you have a bad dream Mayo?" Green asked the boy, and the two year old responded with a whimper and nod. "It's okay, it was just a dream. I'm right here for you. Do you need help getting back to sleep?"

"Yeah..." Mayo choked out.

Green held him close and hummed, then began to sing softly.

_"O spring is coming, melting winter frost... On a frozen lake, you wait for me to cross... And yet I'm still, no going forth or back... For I won't be the one to make the ice crack..."_

Piggeh watched as the toddler calmed down, then eventually fell asleep. Once he had fully drifted off Green carefully laid the child back onto his bed and pulled the blanket back over him. He gave him a peck on the forehead, then stood once again.

"Wow..." Piggeh mumbled, and Green looked back upon hearing him.

"What?" He whispered.

"Ah, you're just really good with him." Piggeh chuckled. "I don't think I'd have been able to calm him down like that."

"I'm sure you would have, or at least you'd learn." Green walked back to their shared bed, and joined Piggeh under the covers again. "Besides, it wasn't always that easy."

"It wasn't?"

"Not at all. When I found him I barely knew how to take care of myself, let alone a baby." He sighed. "But I had to figure it out because no one was around to help me anymore..."

"Anymore?" Piggeh asked, but then immediately tried to take it back. "Wait, I'm sorry, that's a little-"

"No, it's fine." Green assured him. "I used to have other siblings. Red and Bluey... Red left to go join these people called the Barrels, and then Bluey tried to go find him, but she never came back. I've been looking for her since..."

"Oh..." Piggeh said, then something occurred to him. "Maybe I could help you? If you have something with her scent, I could track her. Even if you didn't, I wouldn't mind helping anyway."

"Actually... I've been thinking I might take a break from the search. Maybe stay around here for awhile."

"Really?" Piggeh asked, and Green nodded.

"Now, can we go back to sleep?" Green laughed quietly then yawned. "I'm really tired."

"Ah, right. Goodnight Green."

"Goodnight Piggeh..."

As they fell into slumber again, Piggeh was unsure if he should be happy or not about what Green had said, but he would have a hard time denying that he felt the former.

Green's heartbeat was relaxing, pulling him further into a state of dreaming, but he hoped his much faster pulse was not doing the opposite for the boy so close to him.

* * *

"Piggeh! Look at this!"

Shutting the wardrobe he was looking around in, Piggeh hurried to go find his friend and what he was so excited about, and nearly winced at seeing light. When his eye readjusted, he saw Green standing in front of an open door, sunlight shining onto their surroundings of stone.

"It's a door outside, and it's unlocked!" He said, a wide smile on his face.

"Seriously...?" 

Piggeh ran to the open door and stepped outside, and when he felt the warm breeze on his face he was overwhelmed. It had been 8 years since he had been outside in the fresh air. He looked around, seeing bushes cluttered with pink and red flowers, roses he believed.

"Come on." Green said, walking further outside with Piggeh hesitantly following.

He glanced to the side, and saw there was a large statue of a woman with bird wings looking down at the garden.

_'A human with animal parts...? So she's kinda like Bunny, Jens, and me...'_

It was kind of nice to look at...

"Hey Piggeh, can you hold Mayo for me?" Green's voice called back his attention.

"Sure, but why?" Piggeh asked as he took the toddler in his arms.

"I hear flowers smell good, but I don't want to prick him on those things." Green said, pointing at thorns that littered the stems of the blooms.

"Oh."

He watched as Green leaned forward and sniffed the petals, a serene smile on his face. However, his face soon scrunched up and he quickly backed up.

"What's wrong?" Piggeh asked, trying not to laugh at his reaction.

"I don't like it."

"Is it bad?" Though before Green could answer, Piggeh inched closer and smelled them himself, able to do it from a safe enough distance unlike his friend. They smelled fine to him, nice even.

"Well, they're not, but... I just don't like it." He said, seeming unsure himself of why he reacted the way he did. "Maybe it was too strong? I felt sick."

"Maybe." Piggeh shrugged, not really caring whether Green liked how a flower smelled or not. He just made a mental note of it in case.

The boys continued to look around the courtyard, not finding much of interest besides more flowers. Then they saw trees.

"Let's head back inside-" Piggeh began as he turned to return to the castle, but then he felt Green pulling the back of his shirt.

"Wait... There's a whole forest out there... Let's go further."

"Green, I can't just leave the castle. I mean what about Bunny-"

"We can come right back, I doubt we'll have trouble finding this place again." Green said quickly. "Besides, if we're out too long, can't Jens track us down?"

"I guess..."

"I just want to see if there's somewhere we could go. So we don't have to be in this place anymore..." He said, already walking into the woods and jumping over some roots.

"What about Bluey? Don't you still need to find her?" Piggeh asked, hurrying after his friend with Mayo in his arms.

"What if I never do...?" Green said, quiet but just loud enough for Piggeh to hear.

"I see..." He said, then walked to his friend's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Well, no time to waste. Let's hurry before it gets dark." 

"Right!" A smile returned to Green's face, and he ran ahead into the wilderness, the color the same as his name.

Piggeh was still a bit unsure, but he felt happy as he journeyed by Green's side. It had been so long since he saw so many plants. He didn't know how much he missed seeing this color.

"What the..." Green muttered, and reached into the grass, pulling out a hammer. "What's this doing out here?"

"Well, door was unlocked. Maybe someone already escaped, and dropped it." Piggeh explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Green said, and dropped it back onto the ground.

"If I'm right, then that's a good sign for us, right?"

"I hope so." Green laughed and continued their walk.

As they got further from the castle, Piggeh couldn't help but notice something rather weird.

He was fully awake just moments ago, but he felt so... Tired...

* * *

"A road!" Green practically screamed in excitement as he jumped off of the grass and onto the dirt road. "This means we're close to other people, right?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so..." Piggeh chuckled weakly, and Green noticed right away.

"What's wrong? Is it about humans?" He asked worriedly. "We can go back now if you want."

"No, no it's fine." Piggeh assured him then sighed. "I've just felt really tired."

"Oh. Are you sure you don't want to go back? The road is enough to come back to later." Green asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Piggeh said. "We're almost there, aren't we?"

"Okay, well we should find somewhere to rest then." He said, taking Mayo so his exhausted friend didn't have to carry him anymore.

They then continued walking down the road, and before long a cabin came into sight.

"Do you wanna go see if they'll take us in?" Green asked.

"Yeah, but... Go up without me first..."

"Why?"

"Well, most humans would find this..." Piggeh then pointed at the floppy pink ears on the side of his head. "A little strange..."

"Oh, okay. I'll be right back." Green said, and ran up to the cabin. He walked up the steps to the porch and reached to knock on the door, but then paused. "The door's open!"

"What?" Piggeh asked, and ran to join his friend, seeing that indeed the door was open a crack, and there was even fungus growing along the edges.

Green pushed it open further, and inside they saw a few chairs around a hearth, yarn and fabric strewn onto the carpet, each of them chewed into by some kind of animal. They saw a table with rotting food atop it, and three chairs around it, one of them knocked over. 

"I don't think anyone's been here for a long time..." Green mumbled as he examined the room.

"I guess not..." Piggeh replied, and looked to a rocking chair. At this point, he couldn't help himself and sat down, uncaring what mold was eating the surface.

Green paid no mind and continued to walk around. He opened a door, and Piggeh saw inside was a small child's room. 

"Hey Mayo, are you tired too?" Green asked as he looked at the bed, seemingly determining that it was not too gross for his brother.

Mayo yawned and nodded, so Green laid him down on the bed, humming the lullaby Piggeh knew at heart now.

Piggeh felt like he could fall asleep too, but there was still another problem.

"Green?" Piggeh called out softly so to not disturb Mayo, and his brother poked his head out to see him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really cold..." Piggeh said, and watched as his friend's expression turned confused.

"Cold? It's the middle of summer, and I feel overheated." Green asked incredulously.

"Ah, sorry..." Piggeh mumbled, just trying to curl up and pull his shirt over his body for warmth.

"There isn't any firewood..." Green said as he looked to the fireplace, and Piggeh couldn't help but wonder about that. Was this place abandoned in summer too? "Want me to look for a blanket for now?"

"Yeah, that'll work." Piggeh chuckled. 

As Green looked for the blanket, Piggeh began to doze off. He had every reason not to be, but he felt so... Relaxed...

_'A little sleep wouldn't hurt, would it?'_

But as Piggeh thought this and closed his eyes, they shot open when he heard a ear piercing scream, followed by Mayo crying from being woken up.

He looked to Green, and saw him staring horrified at this own hands, the fingertips a deep brown. Piggeh soon realized it was not because of muck or dirt... But they now looked to be made of wood. 

Seeming to realize something, Green pulled his shirt up and what was revealed terrified them both. Like his fingertips, patches of his torso were now bark.

It was then Piggeh finally understood. He was not simply tired. He was **dying.**

"We have to go!" Piggeh shouted, getting a second wind as he jumped to his feet.

Green nodded and hurried into Mayo's room, scooping the weeping toddler into his arms before hurrying back to Piggeh, grabbing his arm and rushing out the door.

They ran into the forest, holding each other tightly. Piggeh felt conscious slipping away, and he was stumbling and tripping so many times, but Green never let go, dragging him back to the castle with all of his might.

Before Piggeh realized, he was being shoved back through the door of the castle, falling to the ground as life suddenly returned to his body, shocking him as he breathed rapidly. Green followed soon after, dropping to his knees and panting heavily. He watched as his wooden hands returned to flesh.

"So... That's why we can't leave the castle..." Green said, his voice shaky.

"I... I guess not..." Piggeh said, choking back tears as he tried to push the relived trauma of nearly dying again out of his mind.

"Oh god..." Green mumbled, rubbing his face with one hand while holding his still very upset and confused brother.

"Hey, is Mayo okay? I was kind of blacking out during the run here..." Piggeh asked, looking closely at the boy and attempting to calm him down.

"Yeah, I... I didn't see anything strange happening to him."

* * *

"Hey Piggeh, why don't we spend as much time together anymore?"

"What do you mean?" Piggeh asked the boar who had suddenly approached him.

"Well it's been awhile since you and I spent a day together." Jens said. "You're usually out with that Green kid."

"I guess I just really like being around him." Piggeh said with a little shrug.

"I can tell. Until a few months ago you were unable to leave the base without me or Bunny." Jens laughed.

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it?" Piggeh asked, laughing too.

"Of course. Though I'll admit, I think I kinda miss when you never wanted to leave my side."

"Speaking of, Piggeh could I talk to you about something?" Bunny cut in, and Jens muttered something but walked away to let the rabbit take Piggeh's attention.

"Sure! What is it?" The pig asked as he ran up to his mother.

"Green isn't staying with anyone, right?" She asked, and Piggeh nodded. "Since you two are so close, do you think he wants to move in with us?"

"Oh, no he doesn't. He's trying to find his sister, Bluey." Piggeh explained. "Besides, he says he doesn't feel comfortable staying here long..."

"Do you know why?" Bunny asked.

"No, I never found out."

"Well could you ask him about it? Obviously he doesn't have to come stay with us, but I worry about him and Mayo being all alone out there." Bunny said. "And if he likes, I could even adopt him too and you could all be brothers."

"W-What if I don't want to be brothers?" Piggeh blurted out.

Bunny was shocked for a moment, but as she took in the information she grinned.

"Well, you don't have to be brothers. I certainly won't bring that up." She said, a tad too sly for Piggeh's liking. "But instead, I think you should tell him what you _do_ want to be, you know?"

"No, I do not." Piggeh said, walking away before she could explain.

"Okay, if you insist!" Bunny said cheerfully.

Jens watched the mother and son banter playfully, vitriol creeping up his spine with every word that settled.

* * *

Piggeh stared at his reflection in the water as he stood in front of the fountain. How did Green see him like this every day, and not show any terror? The only one scared was himself, considering how he had first reacted to the other boy. He knew though that he looked disgusting, even for a human.

He sighed, and as he reached to touch his own image, a pair of hands suddenly covered his eyes. He then heard a familiar giggle.

"Guess who!"

"Green, can I talk to you about something?" He asked, surprising the chair who removed his hands.

"Umm, sure. One moment." He said, lifting Mayo out of his sling and setting the boy down a little ways away with some toys. "Wait here, okay? Piggeh and I are having private talk."

"Okay." Mayo nodded, happily playing with his toys as Green walked back to the pig.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I... I really like being around you." Piggeh stuttered as he struggled to remember what he wanted to say. "You're so nice, and brave, and you mean so much to me... God I don’t know how to say this."

"Piggeh, it's alright. Take your time." Green said, placing a hand on Piggeh’s shoulder to still his nerves. "I'll understand whatever you have to say."

The pig took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts, and continued.

"When I’m with you, I feel happy to be like a human, and it took me awhile to realize why."

Piggeh stepped back, letting Green's hand fall limply back to his side. His eyes were wide as he seemed to realize now what Piggeh was confessing to.

"I love you, Green..."

"Piggeh... I..." He started in a hoarse tone, his gaze looking anywhere but the boy in front of him. "I don't... I don’t want..."

"I see..."

He didn't need to say anymore, he knew the answer. He didn't feel the same way. And why would he?

"I'm so sorry Piggeh." Green said, attempting to reach for his hand but Piggeh pulled his arm away.

"It's okay..." He mumbled as he stepped further away, his throat feeling tight. "But I think I need to go home." 

"Yeah, probably." He said, walking back to the very confused Mayo and scooping him back up into his arms. "Could I see you tomorrow?"

"S-Sure, I'll see you tomorrow." 

Without another word, Piggeh ran off. He choked back the tears until he was out of Green's sight. He didn't want to make him feel bad for not returning his feelings, so he couldn't let him see him crying.

* * *

Bunny was surprised to hear Piggeh’s distinctive knock on the door, knowing how long her little piglet was usually out for when he was with Green.

"Piggeh? Are you back already?" She asked as she opened the door, only for her heart to break when she saw what waited for her.

Her boy was standing there, wiping tears off his face as he sniveled and uttered a painful "Mom..."

Within seconds, Bunny pulled him into a hug, stroking his pink hair as she asked him. "What happened? Is anyone injured?"

"No, no..." Piggeh quickly said as he sobbed more, clutching onto her shirt. "I... I told him... I told him how I..."

"How you felt?" Bunny softly questioned, and was answered with a hiccup and nod. "Oh baby, I'm sorry."

"Mom, it hurts..."

"I know, Piggeh. But there's nothing to do but take your time, I'm right here for you. Always..."

* * *

Piggeh had forgotten what it was like being alone in the base. He hadn't really had to be since it was just him and Bunny. Now she and Jens had stepped out, and it was just him there.

He had told Green that he would see him today, but he didn’t know if he could face him right now. Besides, he didn’t tell Bunny about that, so he would hate to worry her by suddenly disappearing to go find Green.

As he spun a coin on a table to try and entertain himself, he heard something outside.

"I wanna see Piggeh!" Said pig's heart dropped when he heard Mayo's voice, and then it was followed by a knock on the door.

"Piggeh? Are you in there? You didn't show up at the fountain..."

The fountain is the last thing Piggeh wants to see right now.

Piggeh stood and took a few steps towards the door, but stopped. It still hurt, and he didn’t really want to see him.

"Piggeh... I hear you moving in there..." He heard Green say, and he couldn't help but sigh as he realized he needed to speak.

"I... I can't see you today, it's... It's too soon... I need time."

"How much?" Green asked, he sounded hurt. 

"I don't know. I've never felt like this. I don't know when it will go away."

"Piggeh... I can't wait forever."

"Then don't!" He replied, faster than he could stop himself.

There was a moment where no words were spoken, and finally Green spoke up again.

"I'm going to find Bluey..."

Piggeh already knew what that meant.

"Okay, goodbye Green..."

"Goodbye..."

Piggeh could hear Mayo say his name in confusion as Green walked away. Walking out of Piggeh's life, seemingly for good.

* * *

Every little sound caught Piggeh's attention as he journeyed through the halls. He could swear he heard footsteps, the familiar warm and sweet voice of his friend, or the light and charming voice like a dove's that Mayo had, but he knew it was just his head messing with him. 

It had been a few weeks since Green left, and he really missed him, but he agreed to him leaving so what else could he do? 

"Hey, Earth to Piggeh!" Jens voice snapped Piggeh out of his thoughts, and he looked up to the very irritated boar.

"Ah, sorry. Did you say something?"

"Why are you so out of it today? I can't get you to focus on anything." He sighed as he continued to walk with the pig.

"You know why." Piggeh muttered. "I just can't get him out of my head."

"Still?"

"The situation's changed Jens. I was sad because I was rejected, but now I just miss my friend." Piggeh said, getting annoyed himself. "You know what, if you're just going to treat me this way, I'd rather stay in my thoughts, or just go home."

"You're right, I'm sorry Piggeh." Jens relented, reaching forward and running a hand through the fifteen year old's hair. "I just hate to see you like this, and it comes out wrong."

He removed his hand from the boy's head, and Piggeh noticed his face light up as he seemed to get an idea.

"Actually, I may have an idea on how to clear your head, at least for a little bit." He said with a grin on his face. "Do you want to try it?"

"Of course! What is it?" Piggeh asked while Jens wrapped an arm around him.

"That's a surprise, just follow me. We can't do it out here."

Piggeh eagerly let the nineteen year old lead him to an empty bedroom, taking a few steps inside as he opened the door for him.

"Okay, why do we need to be in-" He was cut off as Jens pushed him against the wall, practically knocking the breath out of the younger swine. "Jens, what the hell?!"

Then to his shock, the boar shoved his mouth against his, clashing their teeth together with the force he pushed into the kiss and nearly cutting Piggeh's skin with his tusk. He could feel the man's drool on his lips and running down his chin.

Disgusted, he did the only thing he could think to do, and attempted to push him away, kicking him in the leg when that didn't seem to do enough. With a grunt, Jens backed off, giving the boy room to breathe.

"What are you doing?!" Piggeh yelled in between pants, wiping the spit on his face with his sleeve.

"What does it look like? And what was the kick for?" Jens seethed. "I thought you wanted my help."

"I didn't even know what you were going to do!" He shot back. He felt so violated and outraged, his face was beginning to ache from how much blood was rushing to it.

"Well I warned you it was a surprise. If you weren't up for anything, you should have objected back there." He tutted, then the man grabbed his arms, pinning them back to the wall as he rested his forehead next to his friend's ear. "Besides, I _know_ you want this. Deep down, you're begging for something like what I can give you. That's why you wanted that friend of yours, isn't it?"

"T-That's not..."

Piggeh let out a small yelp as he felt his friend squeeze his wrist tightly, and his breath hitting his ear as he came closer.

"You don't need to save face with me Piggeh. Just be good and let me have you for awhile." 

Jens was an adult, right? And Piggeh was only fifteen. Maybe he knew what he was talking about? When they kissed, he wasn't really thinking about Green anyway... It might help.

"O-Okay, I trust you..."

* * *

**_"Green! GREEN!"_ **

Maybe he was still here. Perhaps he decided to wait for him after all. He had to see for himself, despite the limp in his step. Tears blurred his vision more than usual, the ones on his cheek had even gotten sticky at this point, and he had to keep reaching up and cleaning his face while he tried to navigate the castle that seemed more like a labyrinth at this moment.

Finally it became familiar again, and he soon found it. The door to the room Green and Mayo were staying in. 

"Green, I'm sorry!" He croaked as he rushed inside, but soon came to a stop.

All of their things were gone, and the room had been cleaned of anything useful Green could take with him. By the looks of things, they had been gone for awhile, just like he had been thinking.

He walked over to the bed where Green would usually sleep, where he would spend nights sharing it with him. He lit the candle on the bedside table and took the sheets in his hands, burying his face in them. Although it was hard to breathe right now, he could faintly catch his friend's scent on them.

It didn't do him any good though, Piggeh knew he couldn't just go track him down, however much he wanted to. However much he wanted to be anywhere but here.

He turned to leave, and as he did, he saw it... That damn mirror in the corner of the room. 

He could see his reflection, the one he desperately tried to avoid. He saw a human boy that had garish and tangled rose-colored hair, with a hideous face covered in dried up bloody scars, and gross with snot and tears. His body was willowy, a dark pink deteriorating sweater hanging off of his frame, and ragged brown jeans and boots that seemed to accentuate how his legs were much too long.

He saw himself clasp his hands, revolting himself at the way the skin moved over his bones. He looked back to his face, and saw his own eyes. One was swollen with blood to the point it had turned completely black, now only visible because he had moved his hair out of his face when he was wiping his tears. The other was a dark brown, and in the middle was his pupil. Long and thin like some kind of monster.

_"What interesting eyes you have."_

He hated it. He hated looking at it. He hated that it was **him**. 

He couldn't help himself. He screamed a shout of anger and sorrow that was building up inside of him, and slammed his fist into the mirror, shattering it.

He stared into his now broken reflection as he caught his breath, watching his blood seep into the cracks. For a moment, they looked like the branches of a tree. He felt... Better now...

He thought back to what happened with Jens, what upset him so much. It now felt silly, to get so worked up over it. It wasn't that bad, and if he did it again he'd probably enjoy it this time.

He pulled his hand away from the mirror, looking at his bruised and bleeding knuckles.

"Piggeh?" He looked to the door, seeing a panting and tired Jens, who immediately looked worried when he saw the state he was in. "Holy shit, what happened?!"

He ran forward, grabbing the pig's hand and getting a look at it himself.

"I'm fine Jens, I just needed to let out some steam." Piggeh said with a laugh.

"And this was your choice?" Jens asked, pulling a roll of bandages out from his bag. "Keep your hand out, I'll patch it up."

Piggeh nodded, watching as the boar wrapped his hand in the thin white cloth.

"I'm sorry for running off like that."

"It's fine, I should have gone a little easier on you. It was your first time after all." Jens finished, letting Piggeh drop his hand. "Do you want to go back home now?"

"Yeah, I need some sleep."

"Me too little buddy, me too." Jens chuckled, and walked to the door, but then looked back to him. "One more thing, Bunny might not understand what we were trying to do. So don't tell her what we did yet, okay?"

Judging by how he acted, Piggeh had to agree. She herself said if she even thought Jens would hurt him, she'd kick him out. He probably wouldn't be able to convince her it didn't bother him. Even if she was right, he knew she'd never forgive herself for letting Jens into their lives.

"Okay."

* * *

"STAY IN THERE!!!"

Before Piggeh could process it, he was being shoved into one of the many spare bedrooms in the community base. When he turned around to face Stephano, he found the door slammed in front of him. When he went to open it, he discovered the golden bastard had locked the door.

"Aww come on! Let me out! I just wanna make love to you~" He mockingly called out with a little bang on the door, and he snickered as he could feel Stephano's glare through the walls.

"What's going on?"

He heard an unfamiliar voice speak up, and he had nearly burst into hysterics when it became clear someone saw that. He could hear Stephano clear his throat, and he began speaking to the new arrival.

"Allos, my name is Stephano. I am a close friend of PewDiePie. I was merely dealing with an associate of mine who clearly has no control over his libido." Stephano said with venom in every last word.

"That's me!" He replied in a sing-song tone.

"I-I see, well it's nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Chair, a new recruit to the Bro Army." 

_Mr_. Chair? That was like a grandpa name, and this guy sounded younger than both of them.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Is there anything I could help you with?"

"Could I meet who's in there?"

Realizing he was about to have a visitor, Piggeh decided to make himself a bit more presentable, smoothing out his shirt and fixing his hair. I mean, he knew he looked nasty anyway, but it was worth a shot. 

When he heard Stephano say "Are you sure? He's a pervert who can't take a hint." he scoffed and stuck his tongue out, although he knew the statue couldn't see him for that to be worth it.

"Yes please. I think I can handle him."

"Very well. But do not blame me if you lose your virginity. Anyway I have business to attend to, so if you'll excuse me..."

Oh god Stephano don't scare him like that then leave! At this point he'll stay locked in this room!

But thankfully, he heard someone unlocking the door, and as it opened he switched back to his usual persona in order to greet the stranger. 

"Hello, I don't think we've met, I'm-"

"Piggeh?"

"How did you..."

It was then Piggeh saw who opened the door. This "Mr. Chair," with familiar green eyes that looked to him with awe. On top of dark brown hair was a beret that he remembered giving to a friend that meant so much to him.

"Green?"

To his surprise, the other man rushed forward, suddenly pulling him into a hug and almost making him fall back.

"I'm sorry!" 

"W-What? What for?" Piggeh asked as Green finally let him go.

"I thought you didn't want to be my friend anymore, so I overreacted and I left! I shouldn't have done that to you."

"Green, Green, it's okay." Piggeh assured him. "I'm sorry too. I made a bigger deal out of it than it really was."

"As far as I remember, I think you reacted normally." Green said, and Piggeh simply shrugged.

"I'm just happy to see you again, I thought you were gone for good."

"Me too." He said, then looked around the room. "Umm, do you wanna go back into the common room?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Piggeh said, following the chair out of the room Stephano had locked him in. "Where's Mayo?"

"He's back at our own base. I don't really think it's a good idea bringing him around places like these for long." Green answered as he sat down on a sofa with the pig.

"You know what, I get that. How old is he now? Last time I saw him he was like a baby."

"He's eight years old now."

"Wow. Bet he doesn't remember me, huh?" Piggeh laughed, and Green shook his head to answer him. "Well anyway, you go by Mr. Chair now?"

"Yeah, but it's just a formality thing. You can keep calling me Green if you want." He said with a small chuckle, then looked at Piggeh's hands. "Hey, what's with all the bandages? Did something happen?"

"Ah, no. It's just a fashion statement." He assured as he waved a bandaged hand around for emphasis, and thankfully Mr. Chair seemed to buy it.

"Is the tattered shirt a fashion statement too?"

"Why yes it is!" Piggeh beamed, earning a laugh from Mr. Chair, then he was back to looking a little more serious.

"Hey Piggeh... Could I ask a bit of a weird question?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you... Do you still have feelings for me?"

"Honestly... Nah." Piggeh told him bluntly. "I mean it's been years since then. Do you think I'd still be hung up on my adolescent crush?"

"Harsh way to put it, but fair enough."

"Well don't take this personally, because you were genuinely crush worthy, but also you were kinda the only kid my age around at the time."

"I get it!" Mr. Chair said with faux annoyance.

"And let's be real here, I may have liked you back then, but I don't know what kind of guy you are now." Piggeh said, a tad more seriously than he was previously talking.

"True, true..."

"You certainly don't know what kind of guy I am now." Piggeh then wrapped an arm around his old friend. "I've changed a _lot_."

"I think I can guess." Green rolled his eyes, removing Piggeh's arm from his body. "Mr. _I just wanna make love to you._ "

"Ah, right. You heard that."

"And what was that about Stephano saying not to blame him if you took my virginity? By the way, rude of him to assume I'm a virgin." Mr. Chair scoffed. "Though, he's not wrong."

"Well for one, that's an exaggeration. I have more class than that." Piggeh said. "Unless you're down for that."

"I'll pass."

"Suit yourself. But yeah, I think you can guess." He laughed again. "Anyway, since we're here and talking and stuff... Do you want to be friends again? We're both Bros now, we'll see each other a lot more, so we probably need to figure that out now."

"Of course. I'd love that, and I'm happy to get to know the new Piggeh." Mr. Chair said, then realized something. "Not like that."

"Shame, but glad to have you back."

* * *

"Okay Jens, what did you need everyone in here for?"

As Rudolph questioned the boar, Piggeh snuck a cherry from the table bowl and popped it in his mouth.

"Well I have a big idea, but I need everyone's agreement." Jens said.

"Okay, what is it?" Adolf asked.

"We have this giant base, a door with a strong lock, plenty of bedrooms, access to a bunch of food... I say we use it for something bigger. Let's open a tavern."

"A tavern?" Gandalf tilted his head. "What's that?"

"It's a place where people go to buy food, get a bed for the night. It'd also be a good way to find some new friends, if you catch my drift~" Jens explained, and Bunny already looked done with the idea.

"Jens, don't you remember what happened to the Bros' community base? If we try something like that we'll just lose our home."

Rudolph felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked to face a very amused looking Piggeh. He soon figured out what was so funny to him when the other pig stuck his tongue out, revealing a tied cherry stem laying on it.

"You dork." He whispered, holding back some giggles. "Bunny, your son is flirting with me!"

"What's new?"

"So... We'll operate as neutral. Barrels won't have a reason to come raid us if we cater to them too."

"There's a problem with that though." Bunny said, looking back to the pig, currently disposing the stem from his mouth. "Piggeh's a bro, and a very well known one. He lives here, so it's not safe for any of us if we freely invite Barrels inside."

"Piggeh's not _that_ involved. He can be less so." Jens retorted.

"Actually... I already have a solution, but it's the opposite." He said, getting up from the table. "I'm moving out."

"You're what?" Gandalf said, his deep brown eyes going wide.

"What sparked this?" Bunny asked.

"Jennifer asked if I wanted to move in with her, and I figured it's time for a little change." He explained nonchalantly. 

"That's it?" Jens asked. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't even know that girl well."

"Neither does she." Piggeh replied.

"Well if you're sure about it, good luck Piggeh." Bunny said, walking over and patting his shoulder. "Just promise to come visit us, okay?"

"Of course I will." Piggeh hugged the woman who raised him, resting his chin on top of her head. "I don't think I can stay away forever."

"Well Jens, if Piggeh's not here, sounds like the tavern thing is good to go." Gandalf laughed, hitting the boar's back. He probably intended to do it softly but he was such a big man that it was enough to shove him forward.

"Yeah, sounds like it."

* * *

"While you're here, I wanna talk to you about something."

"And that is?" Mr. Chair asked, turning to look at the very excited pig.

"Well... I think the base has enough room for about... Two more people?"

"Are you sure about that?" Stephano said incredulously, and the pig quickly shushed him.

"You and Mayo should come live with us!"

"Oh... Thank you for the offer, but I don't think this is a good environment to raise him in." Mr. Chair said. "I think we're okay on our own."

"Alright, worth a shot." He said with a grin.

"Speaking of, I need to get back home. I'll see you guys later."

With that, he left the room, and Piggeh's smile faltered once his friend was out of sight.

"Hey guys, do you think it's because of me?"

"Oh, definitely." Stephano replied.

"Let's be real though Stephano, we probably aren't great role models either." Jennifer cut in.

"Heh, yeah." Piggeh said. "You know what, I need some leg room, so I'm gonna head out. I'll see you in a bit."

"What was that you said about the base being big enough for two more people?" Stephano called out as the pig left, earning a middle finger as he walked out of the base.

Piggeh wandered the halls, sighing and running his hands through his hair as unwanted thoughts plagued his mind.

Of course Green didn't want him around. Who would want to live with a guy like him, after what they went through? He wasn't worth the time.

No, he's overreacting, Green isn't holding some grudge against him. He just doesn't want his baby brother around the sex crazed guy every day.

But he knows he would be willing to tone it down completely. He loves the kid after all.

Why is he getting so worked up about this? It isn't a big deal.

Piggeh, why do you always freak out over every little thing? You're hopeless. Would anyone give you the time of day if they knew how easy it was to get you like this? They barely do as is.

He wanted to shut it up, so he sat against the wall and took out his knife. Removing the bandages, he stared at the nicks and slices on his skin, others old scars and many newer, shiny red. Taking his blade, he brought it to his skin and made another one. A searing pain as it dragged down an uneven line against his pale skin, he let out a small gasp of air he didn't know he was holding in.

As he went to create another scar, he heard a strange mewl and looked up.

Standing across from him was a cat, covered head to toe in thick gray fur. It looked to him with curious silver eyes and a tilted head.

"Oh... You scared me, I thought you were something else." Piggeh sighed and put his knife down, then waved his hand. "Nothing to see here, shoo."

The cat did the opposite, moving closer and Piggeh couldn't help but attempt to back up more.

"Uhh, I don't have food on me, kitty. Go on, get."

Then, it did something that surprised him. It nudged it's nose against his hand, the arm he had cut into.

_'You're hurt...'_

"Y-Yeah... I am..." Piggeh said, and watched as the cat bit his sleeve and attempted to pull. "No, I don't need to go anywhere. It's not that bad..."

The cat did let go soon, but instead of leaving, it situated itself onto his lap. It curled up and started to purr. Piggeh felt tension leave his body, and as he looked down at the cat attempting to comfort him, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

He held the smaller creature tightly as he began to weep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, author's note here!
> 
> First I would like to address that both this chapter and White Lily featured child predators, and I want to assure you all that this is the last of the backstory episodes that will involve this plot point. And if I did not write the topic well or was even harmful in my portrayal, I deeply apologize.
> 
> On a lighter note, I would also like to thank my friend JackGiggles ( https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackGiggles/pseuds/JackGiggles ) for helping me write Mr. Chair's lullaby, Thin Ice ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1STDYAL4z8 ). As well as some specific bits of writing.
> 
> Also, since we're a good way into the story, I would like to hold a Q&A! You can send in up to five questions in the comments here.
> 
> The Q&A will be released alongside the next episode over in the characters and rumors story ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481601 ), so you have until then to participate. I am hoping to get Episode 13 out before too long in the next year, but I make no promises as to the exact date, and it may come later than I am hoping. If it is preferable you can ask a question on Quotev. ( https://www.quotev.com/story/11656860/Amnesia-Deaths-Castle )


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